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33  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14580 

(716)  S73-4S03 


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CIHM/ICMH 

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Tachnieal  and  Bibliographic  Notas/Notes  techniquas  at  bibliographiquas 


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□    Colourad  covars/ 
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I      I    Covars  damagad/ 


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Covars  rastorad  and/or  laminatad/ 
Couvartura  rastaurAa  at/ou  pailiculAa 


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D 
D 


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Pages  damaged/ 
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- 

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12X 

16X 

20X 

24X                            28X                            32X 

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conformit6  avec  les  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 

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dernlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illustration,  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
originaux  sont  filmte  en  commenpant  par  la 
premlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impression  ou  d'illuetration  et  en  terminant  par 
la  dernlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 

Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaftra  sur  la 
dernlAre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  — ►  signifie  "A  SUIVRE".  le 
symbols  V  signifie  "FIN". 

Les  cartes,  plancheS,  tableaux,  etc.,  peuvent  Atre 
filmfo  A  des  taux  de  reduction  diffArents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  Atre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  ciichi,  11  est  fiimA  A  partir 
de  I'angle  supArieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  droite, 
et  de  haut  en  bas,  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nAcessaire.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  m6thode. 


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LETTERS  AND  NOTES 

MANNERS.  CUSTOMS,  AND  CONDITION 

or  m 

NORTH  AMERICAN   INDIANS. 

WRITTEN   DUBINQ  EIGHT  TBABB'  TBATEL  AJIONOBT   THR  WILDEST 
TBIBEI  or  INDUMS  IN  NOBTH  AMEBIOA, 


w 


BY  GEO.   CATLIN. 

TWO  VOLS.  IN  ONE. 

WITH  ONI  BT7NDBID  AND  FIFTY  ILLC8TBATI0NS,  ON  STEEL  AND  WOOD. 


PHILADELPHIA: 

J.  W.  BRADLEY,  48  NORTH  FOURTH  ST. 

1859. 


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V 


CONTENTS. 


LETTER  No.  I.— p.  17. 

Wyoming,  birth-place  of  the  Author.— His  former  Profession. — First  oanse  of  his 
Travels  to  th«  Indian  Country.— Delegation  of  Indians  in  Philadelphia.— First 
start  to  the  Far  West,  in  1832.— Design  of  forming  a  National  Qallety.— Num- 
bers of  Tribes  visited,  and  number  of  Paintings  and  other  things  coUeoted.^ 
Probable  extinction  of  the  Indians,— Former  and  present  numbers  of. — The 
proper  mode  of  approaching  them,  and  estimating  their  oharaoter. 


1 


LETTER  No.  II.— p.  33. 

Month  of  Tellow  Stone.— Distance  flrom  St  Louis.— Difflonlties  of  the  MissonrL— 
Politeness  of  Mr.  Chontean  and  Major  Sanford.— Fur  Company's  Fort— Indian 
Epicures.— New  and  true  School  for  the  Arts. — Beautiful  Models. 


LETTER  No.  III.  •  -p.  38.    Mouth  of  Yellow  Stone. 

Character  of  Missouri  Rirer. — BeantifUI  prairie  shores. — Picturesque  clay  bluffs. — 
First  appearance  of  a  steamer  at  the  Yellow  Stone,  and  curious  ooi^jeotures  of 
the  Indians  about  it — Fur  Company's  Establishment  at  the  mouth  of  Yellow 
Stone.— M'Kensle — His  table  and  politeness. — Indian  tribes  in  this  vioinity. 


LETTER  No.  IV.— p.  47.    Mouth  op  Yellow  Stone. 

Upper  Missouri  Indians.— Qeneral  Character. — Buffaloes — Description  of. — Modes 
of  killing  them. — Buffalo-hunt — Chordon's  Leap. — Wounded  bulL— Extroordi- 
sai7  feat  of  Mr.  M'Kenzie.— Return  from  the  chase. 


iM 


LETTER  No.  V.— p.  59.    Mouth  of  Yellow  Stone. 

Author's  painting-room,  and  characters  in  it — Blaokfoot  chief. — Other  Blackfoot 
chiefs,  and  their  costumes. — Blaokfoot  woman  and  child. — Scalps,  and  objects 
for  which  taken — Red  pipes,  and  pipe-stone  quarry. — Blaokfoot  bows,  shields, 
arrows  and  lances. — Several  distinguished  Blackfeet 

0) 


8  CONTENTS. 


LETTER  No,  VI.— p.  70.    Mouth  of  Ybllow  Stonb. 

Medicines  or  mysteries — medicine-bag — origin  of  tlie  word  medicine. — Mode  of 
forming  tlie  medioine-bng— V»lae  of  the  medicine-bag  to  the  Indian,  and  mate- 
rials for  their  oonstruction, — Blaokfoot  doctor  or  medicine-man — his  mode  of 
caring  the  sick. — Different  offices  and  importance  of  medioine-men. 

LETTER  No.  YIL— p.  81.    Mouth  of  Yelloii  Stone. 

Crows  and  Blaokfeet. — Qeneral  character  and  appearance. — Killing  and  drying 
meat.— Crow  lodge  or  wigwam. — Striking  their  tents  and  encampment  moving.— 
Mode  of  dressing  and  smoking  skins.— Crows. — Beauty  of  their  dresses. — Uorse 
stealing  or  capturing. — Reasons  why  they  are  called  rognes  and  robbers  of  the 
first  order,  Ae. 

LETTER  No,  VIII.— p.  92.    Mouth  op  Yellow  Stone 

Farther  remarks  on  the  Crows.— Bztraordlnary  length  of  hair. — Peenliaritiei  of 
the  Crow  head,  and  several  portraits. — Crow  and  Blackfeet  women. — Their 
modes  of  dressing  and  painting. — Differences  between  the  Crow  and  Blaokfoot 
langnages.- Different  bands. — Different  languages,  and  numbers  of  the  Black- 
feet. — Knisteneaux. — Assinneboins  and  Ojibbeways. — Assinneboins  a  part  of 
the  Sioux. — Their  mode  of  boiling  meat. — Pipe-dance. — Wi-Jun-Jon  (a  chief) 
and  wife. — His  visit  to  Washington. — Dresses  of  women  and  children  of  the 
Assinneboins. — Knisteneanx  (or  Crees) — character  and  numbers,  aad  leTeral 
portraits. — Ojibbeways — Chief  and  wife. 

LETTER  No.  IX.— p.  106.    Mouth  op  Yellow  Stonb. 

Contemplations  of  the  Oreat  Far  West  and  its  customs. — Old  acquaintance.— 
March  and  effects  of  oiviiisatLon. — The  "  Far  West."— The  Author  in  search 
of  it— Meeting  with  "Ba'tiste,"  a  free  trapper. 

LETTER  No.  X.— p.  lit."   Manoan  Village,  Upper  Missoubl 

A  strange  place. — Voyage  fyom  Month  of  Tellow  Stone  down  the  river  to  Man- 
dans. — Commencement. — Leave  M'Kensie's  Fort. — Assinneboins  enoamped  on 
the  river. — Wi-Jun-jon  lecturing  on  the  customs  of  white  people. — Mountain- 
sheep. — War-eagles. — Grizily  bears. — Clay  bluffs,  "brick-kilns,*  roleanio  re- 
mains.— Red  pumice  stone. — A  wild  strolL — Mountaineer's  sleep. — Qriztly  bear 
and  cubs. — Courageous  attack. — Canoe  robbed. — Eating  our  meals  on  a  pile  of 
drift-wood. — Encamping  in  the  night — Voluptuous  scene  of  wild  flowers,  buffalo 
bush  and  berries. — Adventure  after  an  elk. — War-party  discovered. — Magnifi- 
cent scenery  in  the  "  Grand  Detour." — Stupendous  day  bluffs. — Table  fatnd. — 
Antelope  shooting.—"  Qrand  Dome."— Prairie  dogs.- Village.— Fruitless  endca- 
Toiirs  to  shoot  them. — Pictured  bluff  and  the  Three  Domes. — Arrival  at  the 
Mandan  village. 


CONTENTS. 


i ;, 


LETTER  No.  XI.— p.  135.    Mandan  ViLiAoa. 

Location. — Village. — Former  loeationi,  forUfloation  of  their  Tillage.— Deteription 
of  Tillage  and  mode  of  conitmcting  their  wigwama. — Deiorlption  of  interior— 
Bedg — Weapons — Family  gronpi. — Indian  garrulity — Jokes — Fire-tide  ftin  and 
story-tolling.- Causes  of  Indian  taciturnity  in  ciTilized  society. 

LETTER  No.  XII.— p.  146.    Mamdan  Village. 

Bird's-eye  Tiew  of  the  tillage.- The  "big  canoe."— Medicine-lodge. — A  strange 
medley.— -Mode  of  depositing  the  dead  on  scaffolds. — Respect  to  the  dead.— 
Visiting  the  dead. — Feeding  the  dead. — ConTcrse  with  the  dead. — Bonei  of  the 
dead. 

LETTER  No.  XIII.— p.  154.    Mandan  Villaob. 

The  wolf-chief. — Head  chief  of  the  tribe.— SeTeral  portraits. — Personal  appear- 
ance.— Peculiarities. — Complexion. — "  ChoTeux  gris." — Hair  of  the  men. — Hair 
of  the  womdn. — Bathing  and  swimming. — Mode  of  swimming. — Sudatories  or 
vapor-baths. 

LETTER  No.  XIV.— p.  166.    Mandan  Village. 

Costumes  of  the  Mandans.— High  Talue  set  upon  them. — Two  horses  for  a  head- 
dress— Made  of  war-eagles'  quilla  and  ermine. — Head-dresses  with  horns. — A 
Jewish  custom.  .,       '      V/,'.i 

LETTER  No.  XV.— p.  174.    Mandan  Villaob. 

Astonishment  of  the  Mandans  at  the  operation  of  the  Author's  bmsh. — The  Author 
installed  medicine  or  medicine-man. — Crowds  around  the  Author. — Curiosity  to 
seo  and  to  touch  him. — Superstitions  fears  for  those  who  were  painted. — Objec- 
tions raised  to  being  painted. — The  Author's  operations  opposed  by  a  Mandan 
doctor,  or  medicine-man,  and  bow  brought  orer. 

LETTER  No.  XVI.— p.  185.    Mandam  Village. 

An  Indian  beau  or  dandy. — A  fruitless  endeaTor  to  paint  one. — Mah-to-wb  *ja 
(the  four  bears),  second  chief  of  the  tribe. — The  Author  feasted  in  his  wig- 
wam.— Viands  of  the  feast — Pemioan  and  marrow-ikt. — Mandan  pottery.— 
Bobe  presented. 

I 

LETTER  No.  XVII.— p.  194.    Mandan  Village. 

Polygamy. — Reasons  and  excuses  for  it — Marriages,  how  contracted. — (Tivei 
bought  and  sold. — Paternal  and  filial  affection. — Virtue  and  modesty  of  women. 
— Early  marriages. — SlaTish  lives  and  occupations  of  the  Indian  women.—. 
Pomme  blanche. — Dried  meat — Caches. — Modes  of  cooking,  and  times  of 
eating.— Attitudes  in  eating.— Separation  of  males  and  females  in  eating.— 
The  Indians  moderate  eaters. — Some  exceptions. — Curing  meat  in  the  ran,  with- 
out smoke  or  salt— The  wild  Indians  eat  no  salt 


10 


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LETTER  No.  XVIII.— p.  206.    Maxdam  Villaoi. 

Indian  dAocing.—"  Buffalo  dance."— DUoovcry  of  buffaloes— Prepanrtion*  for  the 
obaae — Start — A  deoor — A  retreat — Death  and  acalping. 

LETTER  No.  XIX.— p.  214.    Mandan  Village. 

Sham  fight  and  iham  acalp  danoe  of  tho  Mandan  boyB.— Game  of  Tchong-kee. — 
Feaiting.— Faating  and  aacrificing.— White  buffalo  robe  — Its  value.— Rain 
nakera  and  rain  atoppera.— Rain  making.— "The  thunder  boat."— The  big 
double  medicine. 


LETTER  No.  XX.— p.  229.    Mandan  Village. 

Mandan  archery. — "  Oame  of  the  arrow."— Wild  horaea.- Uorae-racing.— Foot 
war-party  in  counoiL 

LETTER  No.  XXL— p.  234.    Mandan  Village,  Uppkk  Missoubi. 

Hah-to-toh-pa  (the  Four  Bears) — His  costume  and  his  portrait. — The  robe  of  Mah- 
to-toh-pa,  with  all  the  battles  of  his  life  painted  on  it 

LETTER  No.  XXII.— p.  244.    Mandan  Village. 

Mandan  religious  ceremonies. — Mandan  religious  creed. — Three  objects  of  the 
ceremony. — Place  of  holding  the  ceremony. — Big  canoe. — Season  of  com- 
mencing— and  manner. — Opening  the  medicino-Iodgo. — Sacrifices  to  the  water.— 
Fasting  scene  for  four  days  and  nights. — Bel-lohck-nah-pick  (the  bull  danoe). — 
Pohk-hong  (the  cutting  or  torturing  scene). — Eh-kc-nah-ka-nah-iiick  (tho  lost 
race). — Extraordinary  instances  of  cruelty  in  self-torture. — Sacrificing  to  tho 
water. — Certificates  of  the  Mandan  ceremonies. — Inferences  drawn  from  these 
horrible  cruelties,  with  traditions. — Tradition  of  0-kee-hee-de  (the  Evil  Spirit). 
— Mandans  can  be  civilized. 

LETTER  No.  XXIII.— p.  289.    Minatabee  Village. 

Location  and  numbers. — Origin. — Principal  village. — Vapor  baths. — Old  chief, 
Black  Moccasin. — Two  portraits,  man  and  woman. — Qreen  corn  dance. 


f. 


LETTER  No.  XXIV.— p.  298.    Minataree  Village. 

Crowt  in  the  Minataree  village. — Crow  chief  on  horseback,  in  full  dress.— Peculi- 
arities of  the  Crows — Long  hair — Somi-lnnar  faces. — Rats  in  tho  Minatarte 
village.— Crossing  Knife  River  in  "  bull  boat."— Swimming  of  Minatoreo  girls.— 
Horse-racing. — A  banter. — Riding  a  "  naked  horse." — Qrand  buffalo  surround. — 
Cutting  up  and  carrying  iu  meat. 


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11 


LETTER  No.  XXV.— p.  315.    Littli  Mandan  Villaoi,  Upper 

Missouri. 

An  Indian  offering  himielf  for  a  pillow.— Portraiti  of  Riooare«s.— Rieeareo  viU 
lage.— Origin  of  tha  Mandani.— Welsh  colony.— Expedition  of  Madoo. 

LETTER  No.  XXVI.— p.  322.    MontH  of  Toton  Ritbr. 

Sionz  or  Dah-co-ta.— Fort  Pierre. — Misaiasippi  and  Miuonri  Sioaz. — Ha^wan- 
Je-Uh  (chief ).—Panoalia,  Shoo-de-ga-oha  (chief)  and  wife.— Four  wivei  taken 
at  once.— Portrait  of  one  of  the  wives.- Early  nuurriages. — causes  of. 

LETTER  No.  XXVII.— p.  335.    Modth  of  Tktoii  Bitkb. 

Cuatom  of  expoaing  the  aged. — A  tedious  march  on  foot. — LctcI  pralriea. — "  Out 
of  sight  of  land."— Mirage.— Looming  of  the  prairies.— Turning  the  toes  in. — 
Bgou  hills.— Salt  meadows.— Arrive  at  Fort  Pierre.— Great  assemblage  of  Sioux. 
— Paint  the  portrait  of  the  chief.- Superstitious  objections.— Opposed  by  the 
doctors.— Difficulty  settled.— Death  of  Ha-wan-Je-tah  (the  chief ).— Mode  of.— 
Portraits  of  other  Sioux  chiefs. — Wampum. — Beautiful  Sioux  women.— Daugh> 
ter  of  Black  Rook.— Chardon,  his  Indian  wife. 

LETTER  No.  XXVIII.— p.  345.  Mouth  of  Tkton  Rivke. 

Difficulty  of  painting  Indian  women. — Indian  vanity.— Watching  their  portraits. 
— Arrival  of  the  first  steamer  amongst  the  Sioux. — Dog-feast 

LETTER  No.  XXIX.— p.  354.    Mouth  of  Teton  River. 

Voluntary  torture, "  looking  at  the  sun." — Religions  ceremony. — Smoking  "  k'niok- 
k'neck."  —Pipes. — Calumets  or  pipes  of  peace. — Tomahawks  andscalping-knives. 
Dance  of  the  chiefs. — Scalps— Mode  of  taking,  and  object. — Modes  of  carrying 
and  using  the  scalps. 

LETTER  No.  XXX.— p.  367.    Mouth  of  Teton  River. 

Indian  weapons  and  instruments  of  music. — Quiver  and  shield.— Smoking  the 
shield. — Tobacco  pouches — Drums — Rattles — Whistles— Lutes. — Bear  dance.^ 
Beggars'  dance. — Scalp  dance. 

LETTER  No.  XXXI.— p.  376.    Mouth  of  Teton  River. 

Bisons  (or  buffaloes),  description  of. — Habits  of. — Bulls'  fighting.— Buffalo  wal< 
lows. — Fairy  circles. — Running  the  buffaloes,  and  throwing  the  arrow. — Buffalo 
chase.- Use  of  the  laso. — Hunting  under  masque  of  white  wolf  skins. — Horses 
destroyed  in  buffalo  hunting. — Buffalo  calf.— Mode  of  catching  and  bringing 
in. — Immense  and  wanton  destruction  of  buffaloes. — One  thousand  four  hundred 
killed.— White  wolves  attacking  buffaloes. — Contemplations  on  the  probablo 
extinction  of  buffaloes  and  Indians. 


4 


iiiiMnjM 


■K» 


12 


CONTXKTS. 


LETTER  No.  XXXI  [.— p.  403. 

Cantonment  Leavenworth.— Shionnoi.— Portroita  of.  —  Floyd'i  Qrave.— DIack 
Bird'i  Qrare.— Beautiful  graiay  blufli.— Mandan  remaini.— DoUo  Vue.— S()uara 
hilU. — Mouth  of  Platte. — Baffaloei  eroiilng. 

LETTER  No.  XXXIII.— p.  423. 

Orottse  (hooting  before  the  burning  prairiei.— Prairie  bluffii  burning.— Prairie 
meadowf  burning. 

LETTER  No.  XXXIV.— p.  434. 

loways. — Eoniai.— Mode  of  aharing  the  head. — Pawneei.— Small-pox  amonget 
Pawnees.— Mi^or  Dougherty'*  opinion  of  the  Fur  Trade.— Grand  PawneeH.— 
Ottoea.— Omahaa. 

,  LETTER  No.  XXXV.— p.  443. 
St.  Loula. — Loaa  of  Indian  curioaitiea,  Ao. — Qovemor  Clarke.       , 

LETTER  No.  XXXVI.— p.  447. 

Penaaoola,  Florida.— Perdido.— Pine  woods  of  Florida.— Banta  Bon  laland.— 
Prophecy.- Start  for  Camanohee  oountry. 

LETTER  No.  XXXVII.-p.  452. 

Tranait  up  the  Arkanaaa  river. — Fort  Gibaon,  lat  regiment  United  Statea'  Dragoona 
reviewed.- Equipping  and  atarting  of  Dragoona  for  the  Camanohee  country. 

LETTER  No.  XXXVIII.— p.  459. 

Fort  Gibaon. — Osages. — Portraits  of  Oaages.- Former  and  preaent  condition  of.— 
Start  for  Camancheea  and  Pawnee  Picta. 

LETTER  No.  XXXIX.— p.  465. 

Month  of  the  False  Washita  and  Red  River. — Boautiftil  prairie  country. — Arkansas 
grapes. — Plums. — Wild  roses,  currants,  gooseberries,  prickly  pears,  Ac. — Buffalo 
chace. — Murder  of  Judge  Martin  and  family. 


LETTER  No.  XL.— p.  471. 

Sickness  at  the  Month  of  False  Washita— one-half  the  regiment  atart  for  the 
Camancheea,  under  command  of  Col.  Dodge. — Sickneaa  of  General  Leaven- 
worth,  and  cauae  of.— Another  buffalo  hunt. 


1 


CONTENTS. 


LETTER  No.  XLI.— p.  477 

Grwt  Cunuwhe*  Till«g«,  TexM.— A  itampedo.— Meeting  a  Otmanohae  war  party, 
and  mode  of  approaching  them. — They  torn  abont  and  eioort  the  Dragoone  to 
their  riUage.^Immenio  herd*  of  butfaloei. — BoiTaloei  breaking  through  the 
rankf  of  the  Dragoon  regiment. — Wild  honei — lagaolty  of— wild  honei  at 
play. — Joe  Chadwiok  and  I  "orea*t'Ny"a  wild  hone. — Taking  the  wild  hone 
with  laeo,  and  "breaking  down."— Chain  of  the  Rooky  Mountain. — Approach 
to  the  Oamanohee  Tillage.- Immonio  number  of  Oamanohee  honei—i>ricea  of. 
— OapU  Snnoan'i  porohaie. 


ii:uJ- 


.1-1 


LETTEB  No.  XLII.— p.  493. 


reaorlption  of  the  Oamanohee  Tillage,  and  tIcw  of. — Painting  a  fiimily  group.— 
Camanoheei  moving. — Wonderfbl  feata  of  riding. — Portraiti  of  Comanohee 
ohieft.— Eatimates  of  the  Camancheea.— Pawnee  Piota,  Kiowaa,  and  Wicoa. 

LETTER  No.  XLIIL— p.  602. 

The  regiment  adTanoe  towarda  the  Pawnee  Tillage. — DeaerlpUon  and  view  of  the 
Pawnee  Tillage.— Council  in  the  Pawnee  Tillage. — ReooTcry  of  the  aon  of  Judge 
Martin,  and  the  preaentation  of  the  three  Pawnee  and  Qowa  women  to  their 
own  people. — Return  of  the  regiment  to  the  Oamanohee  Tillage. — Pawnee  Piota, 
portraita  of.— Kiowaa.— Wiooa,  portraita  of. 

LETTER  No.  XLIV.— p.  610. 

Camp  Canadian. — Immenae  herdaof  buffaloea. — Oreatalanghter  of  them. — Eztra> 
ordinary  alckneaa  of  the  command. — Suffering  from  impure  water. — Siokneaa 
of  the  men. — Homed  fh>ga.— Curiona  adTenture  In  catching  them. — Death  of 
General  LeaTcnworth  and  Lieutenant  M'Clnre. 


LETTER  No.  XLV.— p.  517. 

Retom  to  Fort  Qibaon. — SoTore  and  fatal  alckneaa  at  that  place. — Death  of  Lien- 
tenant  Weat — Death  of  the  Pruaaian  Botanist  and  his  servant. — Indian  Council 
at  Fort  Qibaon.— Outflta  of  trading-parties  to  the  Camancheea— Probable  conse- 

quencea  of. — Ourioua  minerals  and  fossil  sheila  collected  and  thrown  away. 

Mountain  ridgea  of  foaail  shoUa,  of  iron  and  gypaum. — Saltpetre  and  aalt. 

LETTER  No.  XLVI.— p.  529. 

Alton,  on  the  Miaaissippi.— Captain  Wharton.— Hia  aiokness  at  Fort  Oibson.— The 
Author  starting  alone  for  St.  Louis,  a  distance  of  five  hundred  miles,  across  the 
prairies.— Ilia  outfit.- The  Author  and  his  horse  "  Charley "  encamped  on  a 
level  prairie.— Singular  freak  and  attachment  of  the  Anthor'a  horse.— A  beau- 
tiftal  valley  in  the  prairies.— An  Indian'a  eatimation  of  a  newapaper.— Riqua's 
village  of  Osages — Meeting  Captain  Wharton  at  the  Kickapoo  prairie.— Diffi- 
culty of  swimming  rivera.— Crossing  the  Osage.- Boonville  on  the  Missouri.- 
Author  reaohea  Alton,  and  atarU  for  Florida. 


14 


CONTEXTS. 


LETTER  No.  XLVII.— p.  544. 


Trip  to  Florida  and  Texas,  and  back  to  St.  Lonig.— KickapooB,  portraiU  of.— 
Weas,  portraiU  of.— Potowatomies,  portraits  of.— Kaekasics,  portraits  of.— Peo- 
riag,  portraits  of. — Piankosliaws. — Delawares. — Moheoonneuhs,  or  Mohegani. — 
Oneidas. — Tuskaroras. — Senecas. — Iroquois. 

LETTER  No.  XLVIII.— p.  660. 

Flatheads,  Net  Perc6s. — Flathead  Mission  across  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  St 
Louis.— Mission  of  the  Reverends  Messrs.  Lee  and  Spalding  beyond  the  Rocky 
Mountains. — Chinooks,  portraits  of. — Process  of  flattening  the  head — and  cradle. 
— Flathead  skulls. — Similar  custom  of  Cboctaws. — Choctaw  tradition. — Curious 
manufactures  of  the  Chinooks. — EUukatacks. — Chuhaylas,  and  Ka-aa  Indiana.— 
Character  and  disposition  of  the  Indiana  on  the  Columbia. 

LETTER  No.  XLIX.— p.  570. 

Shawanos. — Shawnee  prophet  and  hia  transactions. — Cherokees,  portraits  of. — 
Creeks,  portraits  of. — Chootaws,  portraits  of. — Boll-play.— A  distinguished  ball> 
player. — Eagle  dance. — Tradition  of  the  Deluge — Of  a  future  state. — Origin  of 
the  Crawfish  band. 

LETTER  No.  L.— p.  590. 

Fort  Snelling,  near  the  Fall  of  St.  Anthony.— Description  of  the  Upper  MissiS' 
sippi. — View  on  the  Upper  Mississippi,  and  "  Dubuque's  Grave." — Fall  of  St. 
Anthony. — Fort  Snelling. — A  Sioux  cradle,  and  modea  of  carrying  their  chil- 
dren. — Mourning  cradle,  same  plate. — Sioux  portraita. 

LETTER  No.  LI.— p.  699. 

Fourth  of  July  at  the  Fall  of  St.  Anthony,  and  amusements. — Dog  dance  of  the 
Sioux. — Chippeway  village. — Chippcwnys  making  the  portage  around  the  Fall 
of  St.  Anthony. — Chippeway  bark  canoes. — Mandan  canoes  of  skins. — Sioux 
canoes. —  Sioux  and  Chippeway  anow-shoes. — Portraita  of  Cbippeways. — Snow . 
shoe  dance. 

LETTER  No.  LII.— p.  608. 

The  Author  descending  the  Mississippi  in  a  bark  canoe. — Shot  at  by  Sioux  In- 
dians.— Lake  Pepin  and  "  Lover's  Leap." — Pike's  Tent,  and  Cap  au'l'ail.- 
"  Cornice  Rooks." — Prairie  du  'Jluen. — Boll-play  of  the  women. — WinnebHgoes, 
portraits  of. — Menomonics,  portraits  of. — Dubuque. — Lockwood'a  cave. — Camp 
des  Moines,  and  visit  to  Keokuk's  village. 

LETTER  No.  LIII.— p.  623. 

The  Author  and  his  bork  canoe  sunk  in  the  Dcs  Moine's  Rapids.— The  Author  left 
on  Moscotin  Island.-  Death  of  Joe  Chailwick.— The  "  West,"  not  the  "  Fur 
West" — Author's  contemplations  on  the  probable  future  condition  of  the  Great 
Valley  of  the  Mississippi, 


■i\y 


I   m 


I  i'^ 


CONTENTS. 


15 


LETTER  No.  LIV.— p.  638. 

Oatesu  des  Pralrios.— Mackinaw  and  Sault  de  St.  Mary'a.— Catching  white  fish.— 
Cano«  race.— Chippeways,  portraits  of.— Voyage  up  the  Fox  River.— Voyage 
down  the  Ooisooniin  in  bark  canoe. — Red  Pipe  Stone  Quarry,  on  the  Cfiteau  des 
Prairies. — Indian  traditions  relative  to  the  Red  Pipe  Stone.— The  "  Leaping 

Book." The  Author  and  his  companion  stopped  by  the  Sioux,  on  their  way,  and 

objections  raised  by  the  Sioux. — British  medals  amongst  the  Sioux. — Mona.  La 
Fromboise,  kind  reception. — Encampment  at  the  Pipe  Stone  Quarry. — Ba'tiste's 
"  Story  of  the  Medicine  Bag." — "  Story  of  the  Dog,"  prelude  to.— Leaving  the 
Mandans  in  canoe. — Passing  the  Riooarees  in  the  night — Encamping  on  the 
side  of  a  olay -bluff,  in  a  thnnder-storm. 

LETTER  No.  LV.— p.  679. 

•♦  Story  of  the  Dog"  told.— Story  of  Wi-jun-jon  (the  pigeon's  egg  head).— Further 
account  of  the  Red  Pipe  Stone  Quarry,  and  the  Author's  approach  to  it. — Boul. 
ders  of  the  Prairies. — Chemical  analysis  of  the  Red  Pipe  Stone. 

LETTER  No.  LVI.— p.  708. 

Author's  return  from  the  COteau  des  Prairies. — "  Laque  du  Cygn."— Sioux  taking 
Muskrats. — Oatbering  wild  rice. — View  on  St  Peter's  river. — The  Author  ond 
his  companion  embark  in  a  log  canoe  at  "  Traverse  de  Sioux." — ^Arrive  at  FaU 
of  St  Anthony. — Lake  Pepin. — Prairie  du  Chien. — Cassville. — Rock  Island. — 
Sac  and  Fox  Indians,  portraits  of. — Ke-o-kuk  on  horseback. — Slave  dance. — 
"Smoking  horsey" — Begging-dance. — Sailing  in  canoes. — Discovery-dance. — 
Dance  to  the  BpVdash. — Dance  to  the  medicine  of  the  brave. — Tr^iiiy  with  Sacs 
ft&d  Foxes — ^ipnlations  of. 

LETTER  No.  LVII.— p.  723. 

Fort  Moultrie. — Seminolees. — Florida  war. — Prisoners  of  war. — Osceola. — Cloud, 
King  Philip. — Co-ee-ha-jo. — Creek  Billy,  Miokenopah. — Death  of  Osceola. 

LETTER  No.  LVIII.— p.  728. 

North-Westem  Frontier — Oeneral  remarks  on. — General  appearance  and  habits 
of  the  North  American  Indians. — Jewish  customs  and  Jewish  resemblances. — 
Probable  origin  of  the  Indians. — Languages. — Qovemment — Cruelties  of  pun- 
ishments.— Indian  queries  on  white  man's  modes. — Modes  of  war  and  peace. — 
Pipe  of  peace  dance. — Religion. — Picture  writing,  songs  and  totems. — Policy 
of  removing  the  Indians. — Trade  and  small -pox,  the  principal  destroyers  of  the 
Indian  tribes.  —  Murder  of  the  Root  Diggers  and  Ricoarees. —  Concluding 
remark!. 


I 


APPENDIX  A. 

Account  of  the  destruction  of  the  Mandans. — Author's  reasons  for  believing  them 
to  have  perpetuated  the  remains  of  the  ^V'el8k  Colony  established  by  Prince 
Madoc. 


16 


CONTENTS. 


APPENDIX  B. 

Vocabularies  of  several  different  Indian  language  i,  showing  their  dissimilarity, 

APPENDIX  0. 

Comparison  of  the  Indian's  original  and  leeondary  charaato; 


\ 


, 


[^ 


Jl 


CATLIN'S 

LETTERS  AND  NOTES 

OH  TBI 

NORTH  AMERICAN    INDIANS. 


LETTER  No.  1. 

As  the  following  pages  have  been  hastily  compiled,  at 
the  urgent  request  of  a  number  of  my  friends,  from  a  series 
of  Letters  and  Notes  written  by  myself  during  several 

years'  residence  and  travel 
amongst  a  number  of  the 
wildest  and  most  remote 
tribes  of  the  North  Ameri- 
can Indians,  I  have  thought 
it  best  to  make  this  page  the 
beginning  of  my  book,  dis- 
pensing with  Preface,  and 


(17) 


18 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THK 


even  with  Dedication,  other  than  that  which  I  hereby 
make  of  it,  with  all  my  heart,  to  those  who  will  take  the 
pains  to  read  it. 

If  it  be  necessary  to  render  any  apology  for  beginning 
thus  unceremoniously,  my  readers  will  understand  that  I 
had  no  space  in  these,  my  first  volumes  to  throw  away ; 
nor  much  time  at  my  disposal,  which  I  could,  in  justice,  use 
for  introducing  myself  and  my  works  to  the  world. 

Having  commenced  thus  abruptly,  then,  I  will  venture 
to  take  upon  myself  the  sin  of  calling  this  one  of  the  series 
of  Letters  of  which  I  have  spoken,  although  I  am  writing 
it  several  years  later,  and  placing  it  at  the  beginning  of 
my  book ;  by  which  means  I  will  be  enabled  briefly  to 
introduce  myself  to  my  readers  (who,  as  yet,  know  little  or 
nothing  of  me,)  and  also  the  subjects  of  the  following 
epistles,  with  such  explanations  of  the  customs  described 
in  them,  as  will  serve  for  a  key  or  glossary  to  the  same, 
and  prepare  the  reader's  mind  for  the  information  they 
contain. 

Amidst  the  multiplicity  of  books  which  are,  in  this 
enlightened  age,  flooding  the  world,  I  feel  it  my  duty,  as 
early  as  possible,  to  beg  pardon  for  making  a  book  at  all ; 
and  in  the  next  (if  my  readers  should  become  so  much 
interested  in  my  narrations,  as  to  censure  me  for  the 
brevity  of  the  work)  to  take  some  considerable  credit  for 
not  having  trespassed  too  long  upon  their  time  and  patience. 

Leaving  my  readers,  therefore,  to  find  out  what  is  in  the 
book,  without  promising  them  anything,  I  proceed  to  say 
— of  mytelf,  that  I  was  bom  in  Wyoming,  in  North 
America,  some  thirty  or  forty  years  since,  of  parents  who 
entered  that  beautiful  and  famed  valley  soon  after  the 
close  of  the  revolutionary  war,  and  the  disastrous  event  of 
the  "  Lidian  massacre." 

The  early  part  of  my  life  was  whiled  away,  apparently, 
somewhat  in  vain,  with  books  reluctantly  held  in  one  hand, 
and  a  rifle  or  flshing-pole  firmly  and  affectionately  grasped 
in  the  other. 


L 


of 


id, 
jed 


NORTH  AMERICAN  i:JDIANS. 


19 


At  the  urgent  request  of  my  father,  who  was  a  practising 
lawyer,  I  was  prevailed  upon  to  abandon  these  favorite 
themes,  and  also  my  occasional  dabblings  with  the  brush, 
which  had  secured  already  a  corner  in  my  affections,  and 
T  commenced  reading  the  law  for  a  profession,  under  the 
direction  of  Beeve  and  Gould,  of  Connecticut.  I  attended 
the  lectures  of  these  learned  judges  for  two  years — was 
admitted  to  the  bar — and  practised  the  law,  as  i  sort  of 
Nimrodical  lawyer,  in  my  native  land,  for  the  term  of  two 
or  three  years  when  I  very  deliberately  sold  my  law 
library  and  all  (save  my  rifle  and  fishing-tackle)  and 
converting  their  proceeds  into  brushes  and  paint-pots,  I 
commenced  the  art  of  painting  in  Philadelphia,  without 
teacher  or  adviser. 

I  there  closely  applied  my  hand  to  the  labors  of  the  art 
for  several  years ;  during  which  time  my  mind  was  con- 
tinually reaching  for  some  branch  or  enterprise  of  the  art, 
on  which  to  devote  a  whole  life-time  of  enthusiasm ;  when 
a  delegation  of  some  ten  or  fifteen  noble  and  dignified- 
looking  Indians,  from  the  wilds  of  the  "  Far  West,"  sud- 
denly arrived  in  the  city,  arrayed  and  equipped  in  all  their 
classic  beauty, — with  shield  and  helmet, — with  tunic  and 
manteau, — tinted  and  tasselled  off,  exactly  for  the  painter's 
palette! 

In  silent  and  stoic  dignity,  these  lords  of  the  forest 
strutted  about  the  city  for  a  few  days,  wrapped  in  their 
pictured  robes,  with  their  brows  plumed  with  the  quills  of 
the  war-eagle,  attracting  the  gaze  and  admiration  of  all 
who  beheld  them.  After  this,  they  took  their  leave  for 
Washington  City,  and  I  was  left  to  reflect  and  regret, 
which  I  did  long  and  deeply,  until  I  came  to  the  following 
deductions  and  conclusions : 

Black  and  blue  cloth  and  civilization  are  destined,  not 
only  to  veil,  but  to  obliterate  the  grace  and  beauty  of 
Nature.  Man,  in  the  simplicity  and  loftiness  of  his  nature, 
unrestrained  and  unfettered  by  the  disguises  of  art,  is 
surely  the  most  beautiful  model  for  the  painter, — and  the 


J 


■k  ;f' 


20 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


country  from  which  he  hails  is  unquestionably  the  best 
study  or  school  of  the  arts  in  the  world:  such,  I  am  sure, 
from  the  models  I  have  seen,  is  the  wilderness  of  North 
America.  And  the  hiatory  and  customs  of  such  a  people, 
preserved  by  pictorial  illustrations,  are  themes  worthy  the 
life-time  of  one  man,  and  nothing  short  of  the  loss  of  my 
life,  shall  prevent  me  from  visiting  their  country,  and  of 
becoming  their  historian. 

There  was  something  inexpressibly  delightful  in  the 
above  resolve,  which  was  to  bring  me  amidst  such  living 
models  for  my  brush ;  and  at  the  same  time  to  place  in  my 
hands  again,  for  my  living  and  protection,  the  objects  of 
my  heart  above-named ;  which  had  long  been  laid  by  to 
rust  and  decay  in  the  city,  without  the  remotest  prospect 
of  again  contributing  to  my  amusement. 

I  had  fully  resolved :  I  opened  my  views  to  my  friends 
and  relations,  but  got  not  one  advocate  or  abettor.  I  tried 
fairly  and  faithfully,  but  it  was  in  vain  to  reason  with  those 
whose  anxieties  were  ready  to  febricate  every  difficulty 
and  danger  that  could  be  imagined,  witliout  being  able  to 
understand  or  appreciate  the  extent  or  importance  of  my 
designs,  and  I  broke  from  them  all,— from  my  wife  and 
my  aged  parents, — myself  my  only  adviser  and  protector. 

With  these  views  firmly  fixed — armed,  equipped,  and 
supplied,  I  started  out  in  the  year  1832,  and  penetrated 
the  vast  and  pathless  wilds  which  are  familiarly  denomi- 
nated the  great  "Far  "West"  of  the  North  American 
Continent,  with  a  light  heart,  inspired  with  an  enthusiastic 
hope  and  reliance  that  I  could  meet  and  overcome  all  the 
hazards  and  privations  of  a  life  devoted  to  the  production 
of  a  literal  and  graphic  delineation  of  the  living  manners, 
customs,  and  character  of  an  interesting  race  of  people,  who 
are  rapidly  passing  away  from  the  face  of  the  earth — 
lending  a  hand  to  a  dying  nation,  who  have  no  historians 
or  biographers  of  their  own  to  portray  with  fidelity  their 
native  looks  and  history;  thus  snatching  from  a  hasty 
oblivion  what  could  be  saved  for  the  benefit  of  posterity, 


'  if 


:* 
», 


4 


NOBTH  AUBRICAK  INDIANS. 


21 


._.ll 


and  perpetuating  it,  as  a  fair  and  just  monument,  to  the 
memory  of  a  truly  lofty  and  noble  race. 

I  Lave  spent  about  eight  years  already  in  the  pursuit 
above-named,  having  been  for  the  most  of  that  time 
immersed  in  the  Indian  country,  mingling  with  red  men, 
and  identifying  myself  with  them  as  much  as  possible  in 
their  games  and  amusements,  in  order  the  better  to  familiar- 
ize myself  with  their  superstitions  and  mysteries,  which 
are  the  keys  to  Indian  life  and  character. 

It  was  during  the  several  years  of  my  life  just  mentioned, 
and  whilst  I  was  in  familiar  participation  with  them  in 
their  sports  and  amusements,  that  I  penned  the  following 
series  of  epistles ;  describing  only  such  glowing  or  curious 
scenes  and  events  as  passed  under  my  immediate  observa- 
tion ;  leaving  their  early  history,  and  many  of  their 
traditions,  language,  &c.,  for  a  subsequent  and  much  more 
elaborate  work,  for  which  I  have  procured  the  materials, 
and  which  I  may  eventually  publish. 

I  set  out  on  my  arduous  and  perilous  undertaking  with 
the  determination  of  reaching,  ultimately,  every  tribe  of 
Indians  on  the  Continent  of  North  America,  and  of  bring- 
ing home  faithful  portraits  of  their  principal  personages, 
both  men  and  women,  from  each  tribe ;  views  of  their 
villages,  games,  &c.,  and  full  notes  on  their  character  and 
history.  I  designed,  also,  to  procure  their  costumes,  and 
a  complete  collection  of  their  manufactures  and  weapons, 
and  to  perpetuate  them  in  a  Gallery  unique,  for  the  use 
and  instruction  of  future  ages. 

I  claim  whatever  merit  there  may  have  been  in  the 
originality  of  such  a  design,  as  I  was  undoubtedly  the  first 
artist  who  ever  set  out  upon  such  a  work,  designing  to 
carry  his  canvass  to  the  Eocky  Mountains;  and  a  con- 
siderable part  of  the  following  Letters  were  written  and 
published  in  the  New  York  papers,  as  early  as  the  years 
1832  and  1833;  long  before  the  Tours  of  "Washington 
Irving,  and  several  others,  whose  interesting  narratives  are 
before  the  world. 


22 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THK 


i 


1:1 


#• 


r- 


I  have,  as  yet,  by  no  means  visited  all  the  tribes ;  but  I 
have  progressed  a  very  great  way  with  the  enterprise,  and 
with  far  greater  and  more  complete  success  than  I  expected. 

I  have  visited  forty-eight  different  tribes,  the  greater 
part  of  which  I  found  speaking  different  languages,  and 
containing  in  all  four  hundred  thousand  souls.  I  have 
brought  home  safe,  and  in  good  order,  three  hundred  and 
ten  portraits  in  oil,  all  painted  in  their  native  dress,  and  in 
their  own  wigwams;  and  also  two  hundred  other  paintings 
in  oil,  containing  views  of  their  villages — their  wigwams — 
their  games  and  religious  ceremonies — their  dances — their 
ball  plays — their  buffalo  hunting,  and  other  amusements 
(containing  in  all,  over  three  thousand  full-length  figures) ; 
and  the  landscapes  of  the  country  they  live  in,  as  well  as 
a  very  extensive  and  curious  collection  of  their  costumes, 
and  all  their  other  manufactures,  from  the  size  of  a  wig- 
wam down  to  the  size  of  a  quill  or  a  rattle. 

So  much  of  myself  and  of  my  workSf  which  is  all  that  I 
wish  to  say  at  present. 

Of  the  Indians,  I  have  much  more  to  say,  and  to  the 
following  delineations  of  them,  and  their  character  and 
customs,  I  shall  make  no  further  apology  for  requesting 
the  attention  of  my  readers. 

The  Indians  (as  I  shall  call  them),  the  savages  or  red  men 
of  the  forests  and  prairies  of  North  America,  are  at  this  time 
a  subject  of  great  interest  and  some  importance  to  the 
civilized  world ;  rendered  more  particularly  so  in  this  age, 
from  their  relative  position  to,  and  their  rapid  declension 
from,  the  civilized  nations  of  the  earth.  A  numerous 
nation  of  human  beings,  whose  origin  is  beyond  the  reach 
of  human  investigation, — whose  early  history  is  lost — 
whose  term  of  national  existence  is  nearly  expired — three- 
fourths  of  whose  country  has  fallen  into  the  possession  of 
civilized  man  within  the  short  space  of  two  hundred  and 
fifty  years — twelve  millions  of  whose  bodies  have  fattened 
the  soil  in  the  mean  time;  who  have  fallen  victims  to 
whisky,  the  small-pox,  and  the  bayonet ;  leaving  at  this 


NOBTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


23 


the 
md 

1 

1 

ing 

iS 

fv 

aen 

Wm 

.me 

mm 

the 

H 

ge. 

9 

ion 
oua 

1 

ach 

1 

t— 

1 

•ee- 

f 

of 

«^ 

ind 

aed 

,  to 

his 

'•^1 

time  but  a  meagre  proportion  to  live  a  short  time  longer, 
in  the  certain  apprehension  of  soon  sharing  a  similar  fate. 

The  writer  who  would  undertake  to  embody  the  whole 
history  of  such  a  people,  with  all  their  misfortunes  and 
calamities,  must  needs  have  much  more  space  than  I  have 
allotted  to  this  epitome ;  and  he  must  needs  begin  also  (as 
I  am  doing)  with  those  who  are  living,  or  he  would  be  very 
apt  to  dwell  upon  the  preamble  of  his  work,  until  the 
present  living  remnants  of  the  race  should  have  passed 
away,  and  their  existence  and  customs,  like  those  of  ages 
gone  by,  become  subjects  of  doubt  and  incredulity  to  the 
world  for  whom  his  book  was  preparing.  Such  an  his- 
torian also,  to  do  them  justice,  must  needs  correct  many 
theories  and  opinions  which  have,  either  ignorantly  or 
maliciously,  gone  forth  to  the  world  in  indelible  characters; 
and  gather  and  arrange  a  vast  deal  which  has  been  but 
imperfectly  recorded,  or  placed  to  the  credit  of  a  people 
who  have  not  had  the  means  of  recording  it  themselves ; 
but  have  entrusted  it,  from  necessity,  to  the  honesty  and 
punctuality  of  their  enemies. 

In  such  an  history  should  be  embodied,  also,  a  correct 
account  of  their  treatment,  and  the  causes  which  have  led  to 
their  rapid  destruction ;  and  a  plain  and  systematical  pro- 
phecy as  to  the  time  and  manner  of  their  final  extinction, 
based  upon  the  causes  and  the  ratio  of  their  former  and 
present  declension. 

So  Herculean  a  task  may  fall  to  my  lot  at  a  future 
period,  or  it  may  not:  but  I  send  forth  these  volumes  at 
this  time,  fresh  and  full  of  their  living  deeds  and  customs, 
as  a  familiar  and  unstudied  introduction  (at  least)  to  them 
and  their  native  character ;  which  I  confidently  hope  ynU. 
repay  the  readers  who  read  for  information  and  historical 
facts,  as  well  as  those  who  read  but  for  amusement. 

The  world  know  generally,  that  the  Indians  of  North 
America  are  copper-colored;  that  their  eyes  and  their 
hair  are  black,  &c. ;  that  they  are  mostly  uncivilized,  r.nd 
consequently  unchristianized ;   that  they  are  nevertheless 


24 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


«: 


human  beings,  with  features,  thoughts,  reason,  and  sympa- 
thies like  our  own ;  but  few  yet  know  how  they  live,  how 
they  dress,  how  they  worship,  what  are  their  actions,  their 
"•istoms,  their  religion,  their  amusements,  &c.,  as  they 
practise  them  in  the  uncivilized  regions  of  their  uninvaded 
country,  which  it  is  the  main  object  of  this  work,  clearly 
and  distinctly  to  set  forth. 

It  would  be  impossible  at  the  same  time,  in  a  book  of 
these  dimensions,  to  explain  all  the  manners  and  customs 
of  these  people ;  but  as  far  as  they  are  narrated,  they  have 
been  described  by  my  pen,  upon  the  spot,  as  I  have  seen 
them  transacted ;  and  if  some  few  of  my  narrations  should 
seem  a  little  too  highly  coloured,  I  trust  the  world  will  be 
ready  to  extend  to  me  that  pardon  which  it  is  customary 
to  yield  to  all  artists  whose  main  faults  exist  in  the  vivid- 
ness of  their  coloring,  rather  than  in  the  drawing  of  their 
pictures ;  but  there  is  nothing  else  in  them,  I  think,  that  I 
should  ask  pardon  for,  even  though  some  of  them  should 
stagger  credulity,  and  incur  for  me  the  censure  of  those 
critics,  who  sometimes,  unthinkingly  or  unmercifully,  sit 
at  home  at  their  desks,  enjoying  the  luxury  of  wine  and  a 
good  cigar,  over  the  simple  narration  of  the  honest  and 
weather-worn  traveller  (who  shortens  his  half-starved  life 
in  catering  for  the  world),  to  condemn  him  and  his  work  to 
oblivion,  and  his  wife  and  his  little  children  to  poverty  and 
starvation ;  merely  because  he  describes  scenes  which  they 
have  not  beheld,  and  which,  consequently,  they  are  unable 
to  believe. 

The  Indians  of  North  America,  as  I  have  before  said,  are 
copper-colored,  with  long  black  hair,  black  eyes,  tall, 
straight,  and  elastic  forms — are  less  than  two  millions  in 
number — were  originally  the  undisputed  owners  of  the  soil, 
and  got  their  title  to  their  lands  from  the  Great  Spirit  who 
created  them  on  it, — were  once  a  happy  and  flourishing 
people,  enjoying  all  the  comforts  and  luxuries  of  life  which 
they  knew  of,  and  consequently  cared  for : — were  sixteen 
millions  in  numbers,  and  sent  that  number  of  daily  prayers 


soil, 
who 
ihing 
rhich 
tteen 
lyers 


KOBTH  AMKRICAN  INDIANS. 


25 


to  the  Almighty,  and  thanks  for  his  goodness  and  protec- 
tion. Their  country  was  entered  by  white  men,  but  a  few 
hundred  years  since ;  and  thirty  millions  of  these  are  now 
scuffling  for  the  goods  and  luxuries  of  life,  over  the  bones 
and  ashes  of  twelve  millions  of  red  men,  six  millions  of 
whom  have  fallen  victims  to  the  small-pox,  and  the  remain- 
der to  the  sword,  the  bayonet,  and  whisky;  all  of  which 
means  of  their  death  and  destruction  have  been  introduced 
and  visited  upon  them  by  acquisitive  white  men ;  and  by 
white  men,  also,  whose  forefathers  were  welcomed  and 
embraced  in  the  land  where  the  poor  Indian  met  and  fed 
them  with  "  ears  of  green  com  and  with  pemican."  Of  the 
two  millions  remaining  alive  at  this  time,  about  one  million 
four  hundred  thousand  are  already  the  miserable  living 
victims  and  dupes  of  the  white  man's  cupidity,  degraded, 
discouraged  and  lost  in  the  bewildering  maze  that  is  pro- 
duced by  the  use  of  whisky  and  its  concomitant  vices ;  and 
the  remaining  number  are  yet  unroused  and  unenticed  from 
their  wild  haunts  or  their  primitive  modes,  by  the  dread  or 
love  of  white  man  and  his  allurements. 

It  has  been  with  these,  mostly,  that  I  have  spent  my 
time,  and  of  these,  chiefly,  and  their  customs,  that  the 
following  letters  treat.  Their  habits  (and  their's  alone)  as 
we  can  see  them  transacted,  are  native,  and  such  as  I  have 
wished  to  fix  and  preserve  for  future  ages. 

Of  the  dead  and  of  those  who  are  dying,  of  those  who 
have  suffered  death,  and  of  those  who  are  now  trodden  and 
kicked  through  it,  I  may  speak  more  fully  in  some  deduc- 
tions at  the  close  of  this  book ;  or  at  some  future  time, 
when  I  may  find  more  leisure,  and  may  be  able  to  speak  of 
these  scenes  without  giving  offence  to  the  world,  or  to  any 
body  in  it. 

Such  a  portrait  then  as  I  have  set  forth  in  the  following 
pages  (taken  by  myself  from  the  free  and  vivid  realities  of 
life,  instead  of  the  vague  and  uncertain  imagery  of  recollec- 
tion, or  from  the  haggard  deformities  and  distortions  of 
disease  and  death),  I  offer  to  the  world  for  their  amuse- 


li 


26 


LKTTIRS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


ment,  as  veil  as  for  their  information,  and  I  trust  they 
will  pardon  me,  if  it  should  be  thought  that  I  have  over- 
estimated the  Indian  character,  or  at  other  times  descended 
too  much  into  the  details  and  minutiaa  of  Indian  mysteries 
and  absurdities. 

The  reader,  then,  to  understand  me  rightly,  and  draw 
from  these  Letters  the  information  which  they  are  intended 
to  give,  must  follow  me  a  vast  way  from  the  civilized 
world ;  he  must  needs  wend  his  way  from  the  city  of  New 
York,  over  the  Alleghany,  and  far  beyond  the  mighty 
Missouri,  and  even  to  the  base  and  summit  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  some  two  or  three  thousand  miles  from  the 
Atlantic  coast.  He  should  forget  many  theories  he  has 
read  in  the  books,  of  Indian  barbarities,  of  wanton  butch- 
eries and  murders ;  and  divest  himself,  as  far  as  possible, 
of  the  deadly  prejudices  which  he  has  carried  from  his 
childhood,  against  this  most  unfortunate  and  most  abused 
part  of  the  race  of  his  fellow-man. 

He  should  consider,  that  if  he  has  seen  the  savages  of 
North  America  without  making  such  a  tour,  he  has  fixed 
his  eyes  upon  and  drawn  his  conclusions  (in  all  probability) 
only  from  those  who  inhabit  the  frontier ;  whose  habits  have 
been  changed — ^whose  pride  has  been  cut  down — whose 
country  has  been  ransacked — whose  wives  and  daughters 
have  been  shamefully  abused — whose  lands  have  been 
wrested  from  them — whose  limbs  have  become  enervated 
and  naked  by  the  excessive  use  of  whisky — whose  friends 
and  relations  have  been  prematurely  thrown  into  their 
graves — whose  native  pride  and  dignity  have  at  last  given 
way  to  the  unnatural  vices  which  civilized  cupidity  has 
engrafted  upon  them,  to  be  silently  nurtured  and  magnified 
by  a  burning  sense  of  injury  and  injustice,  and  ready  for 
that  cruel  vengeance  which  often  falls  from  the  hand  that 
is  palsied  by  refined  abuses,  and  yet  unrestrained  by  the 
glorious  influences  of  refined  and  moral  cultivation.  That 
if  he  has  laid  up  what  he  considers  well-founded  knowledge 
of  these  people,  from  books  which  he  has  read,  and  from 


NORTH   AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


vr 


)een 
ited 
mds 
leir 
iven 
haa 
ified 
for 
tbat 
the 
'bat 
^dgo 
rom 


A 


newspapers  only,  he  should  paiuo  at  least,  and  withhold  his 
sentence  before  ho  passes  it  upon  the  character  of  a  people 
who  are  dying  at  the  hands  of  their  enemies,  without  the 
means  of  recording  their  own  annals — struggling  in  their 
nakedness  with  their  simple  weapons,  against  gun§  and 
gunpowder — against  whisky  and  steel,  and  disease,  and 
mailed  warriors,  who  are  continually  trampling  them  to 
the  earth,  and  at  last  exultingly  promulgating  from  the 
very  soil  which  they  have  wrested  from  the  poor  savage, 
the  history  of  his  cruelties  and  barbarities,  whilst  his  bones 
are  quietly  resting  under  the  very  furrows  which  their 
ploughs  are  turning. 

So  great  and  unfortunate  are  the  disparities  between 
savage  and  civil  in  numbers,  in  weapons  and  defences — in 
enterprise,  in  crafl,  and  in  education,  that  the  former  is 
almost  universally  the  sufferer,  either  in  peace  or  in  M'ar ; 
and  not  less  so  after  his  pipe  and  his  tomahawk  have 
retired  to  the  grave  with  him,  and  his  character  is  left  to 
be  entered  upon  the  pages  of  history,  and  that  justice  done 
to  his  memory,  which  from  necessity,  he  has  intrusted  to 
his  enemy. 

Amongst  the  numerous  historians,  however,  of  these 
strange  people,  they  have  had  some  friends  who  have  done 
them  justice ;  yet  as  a  part  of  all  systems  of  justice  when- 
ever it  is  meted  to  the  poor  Indian,  it  comes  invariably 
too  late,  or  is  administered  at  an  ineffectual  distance ;  and 
that  too  when  his  enemies  are  continually  about  him,  and 
effectually  applying  the  means  of  his  destruction 

Some  writers,  I  have  been  grieved  to  see,  ha-v  written 
down  the  character  of  the  North  American  Indian  as  dark, 
relentless,  cruel  and  murderous,  in  the  last  degree ;  with 
scarce  a  quality  to  stamp  their  existence  of  a  higher  order 
than  that  of  the  brutes :  whilst  others  have  given  them  a 
high  rank,  as  I  feel  myself  authorized  to  do,  as  honorable 
and  highly  intellectual  beings ;  and  others,  both  friends  and 
foes  to  the  red  men,  have  spoken  of  them  as  an  "  anomaly 
in  nature  1" 


28 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


In  this  place  I  have  no  time  or  inclinrtion  to  reply  to 
so  unaccountable  an  assertion  as  this ;  contenting  myself 
with  the  belief,  that  the  term  would  be  far  more  correctly 
applied  to  that  part  of  the  human  family  who  have  strayed 
farthest  from  nature,  than  it  could  be  to  those  who  are 
simply  moving  in,  and  filling  the  sphere  for  which  they 
were  designed  by  the  Great  Spirit  who  made  them. 

From  what  I  have  seen  of  these  people  I  feel  authorized 
to  say,  that  there  is  nothing  very  strange  or  unaccountable 
in  their  character ;  but  that  it  is  a  simple  one,  and  easy  to 
be  learned  and  understood,  if  the  right  means  be  taken  to 
familiarize  ourselves  with  it.  Although  it  has  its  dark 
spots,  yet  there  is  much  in  it  to  be  applauded,  and  much  to 
recommend  it  to  the  admiration  of  the  enlightened  world. 
And  I  trust  that  the  reader,  who  looks  through  these  vol- 
umes with  care,  will  be  disposed  to  join  me  in  the  conclu- 
sion that  the  North  American  Indian,  in  his  native  state, 
is  an  honest,  hospitable,  faithful,  brave,  warlike,  cruel, 
revengeful,  relentless — yet  honorable,  contemplative,  and 
religious  being. 

If  such  be  the  case,  I  am  sure  there  is  enough  in  it  to 
recommend  it  to  the  fair  perusal  of  the  world,  and  charity 
enough  in  all  civilized  countries,  in  this  enlightened  age, 
to  extend  a  helping  hand  to  a  dying  race ;  provided  that 
prejudice  and  fear  can  be  removed,  which  have  heretofore 
constantly  held  the  civilized  portions  in  dread  of  the 
savage — and  away  from  that  familiar  and  friendly  embrace, 
in  which  alone  his  true  native  character  can  bo  justly  ap- 
preciated. 

I  am  fully  convinced,  from  a  long  familiarity  with  these 
people,  that  the  Indian's  misfortune  has  consisted  chiefly  in 
our  ignorance  of  their  true  native  cliaracter  and  disposition, 
which  lias  always  held  us  at  a  distrustful  distance  from 
them ;  inducing  us  to  look  upon  them  in  no  other  light 
than  that  of  a  hostile  foe,  and  worthy  only  of  that  system 
of  continued  warfare  and  abuse  that  has  been  for  ever 
waged  agamst  them. 


m 


XOBTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


29 


There  is  ■  >  difficulty  in  approaching  the  Indian  and 
getting  acquaiuted  with  him  in  his  wild  and  unsophisticated 
state,  and  finding  him  an  honest  and  honorable  man,  with 
feelings  to  meet  feelings,  if  the  above  prejudice  and  dread 
can  be  laid  aside,  and  any  one  will  take  the  pains,  as  I  have 
done,  to  go  and  see  him  in  the  simplicity  of  his  native 
state,  smoking  his  pipe  under  his  own  humble  roof,  with 
his  wife  and  children  around  him,  and  his  faithful  dogs  and 
horses  hanging  about  his  hospitable  tenement.  So  the 
world  may  see  him  and  smoks  his  friendly  pipe,  which  will 
be  invariably  extended  to  them ;  and  share,  with  a  hearty 
welcome,  the  best  that  his  wigwam  affords  for  the  appetite, 
which  is  always  set  out  to  a  stranger  the  next  moment  after 
he  enters. 

But  so  the  mass  of  the  world,  most  assuredly,  will  not  see 
these  people ;  for  they  are  too  far  off,  and  approachable  to 
those  only  whose  avarice  or  cupidity  alone  lead  them  to 
those  remote  regions,  and  whose  shame  prevents  them  from 
publishing  to  the  world  the  virtues  which  they  have  thrown 
down  and  trampled  under  foot. 

The  very  use  of  the  word  savage,  as  it  is  applied  in  its 
general  sense,  I  am  inclined  to  believe  is  an  abuse  of  the 
word,  and  the  people  to  whom  it  is  applied.  The  word,  in 
its  true  definition,  means  no  more  than  wild,  or  wild  man , 
and  a  wild  man  may  have  been  endowed  by  his  Maker  with 
all  the  humane  and  noble  traits  that  inhabit  the  heart  of  a 
tame  man.  Our  ignorance  and  dread  or  fear  of  these 
people,  therefore,  have  given  a  new  definition  to  the  adjec- 
tive ;  and  nearly  the  whole  civilized  world  apply  the  word 
savage,  as  expressive  of  tho  most  ferocious,  cruel,  and  mur- 
derous character  that  can  be  described. 

The  grizzly  bear  is  called  savage,  because  he  is  blood- 
thirsty, ravenous  and  cruel;  and  so  is  the  tiger,  and  they, 
like  the  poor  red  man,  have  been  feared  and  dreaded  (from 
the  distance  at  which  ignorance  and  prejudice  have  kept  us 
from  them,  or  from  resented  abuses  which  we  have  practised 
V  hen  we  have  come  in  close  contact  with  them,)  until  Van 


80 


LBTTEBS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


i'\ 


Amburgli  shewed  the  world,  that  even  these  ferocious 
and  unreasoning  animals  wanted  only  the  friendship  and 
close  embrace  of  their  master,  to  respect  and  to  love  him. 

As  evidence  of  the  hospitality  of  these  ignorant  and  be- 
nighted people,  and  also  of  their  honesty  and  honor,  there 
•will  be  found  recorded  many  striking  instances  in  the 
following  pages.  And  also,  as  an  offset  to  these,  many 
evidences  of  the  dark  and  cruel,  as  well  as  ignorant  and 
disgusting  excesses  of  passions,  unrestrained  by  the  salutary 
influences  of  laws  and  Christianity. 

I  have  roamed  about  from  time  to  time  during  seven  or 
eight  years,  visiting  and  associating  with,  some  three  or 
four  hundred  thousand  of  these  people,  under  an  almost 
infinite  variety  of  circumstances ;  and  from  the  very  many 
and  decided  voluntary  acts  of  their  hospitality  and  kindness, 
I  feel  bound  to  pronounce  them,  by  nature,  a  kind  and 
hospitable  people.  I  have  been  welcomed  generally  in  their 
country,  and  treated  to  the  best  that  they  could  give  me, 
without  any  charges  made  for  my  board ;  they  have  often 
escorted  me  through  their  enemies'  country  at  some  hazard 
to  their  own  lives,  and  aided  me  in  passing  mountains  and 
rivers  with  my  awkward  baggage ;  and  under  all  of  these 
circumstances  of  exposure,  no  Indian  ever  betrayed  me, 
struck  me  a  blow,  or  stole  from  me  a  shilling's  worth  of  my 
property  that  I  am  aware  of. 

This  is  saying  a  great  deal,  (and  proving  it  too,  if  the 
reader  will  believe  me)  in  favor  of  the  virtues  of  these  people ; 
when  it  is  borne  in  mind,  as  it  should  be,  that  there  is  no 
law  in  their  land  to  punish  a  man  for  theft — that  locks  and 
keys  are  not  known  in  their  country — that  the  command- 
ments have  never  been  divulged  amongst  them ;  nor  can 
any  human  retribution  fall  upon  the  head  of  a  thief,  save 
the  disgrace  which  attaches  as  a  stigma  to  his  character,  in 
the  eyes  of  his  people  about  him. 

And  thus  in  these  little  communities,  strange  as  it  may 
seem,  in  the  absence  of  all  systems  of  jurisprudence,  I  have 
often  beheld  peace  and  happiness,   and  quiet,   reigning 


1 


I  if  the 
|)eople; 
is  no 
cs  and 
Lmand- 
Lor  can 
If,  save 
Iter,  in 

lit  may 
ll  have 
liguing 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


81 


supreme,  for  which  even  kings  and  emperors  might  envy 
them.  I  have  seen  rights  and  virtue  protected,  and  wrongs 
redressed;  and  I  have  seen  conjugal,  filial  and  paternal 
affection  in  the  simplicity  aud  contentedness  of  nature.  I 
have  unavoidably,  formed  warm  and  enduring  attachments 
to  some  of  these  men  which  I  do  not  wish  to  forget — who 
have  brought  me  near  to  their  hearts,  and  in  our  final 
separation  have  embraced  me  in  their  arms,  and  commended 
me  and  my  affairs  to  the  keeping  of  the  Great  Spirit. 

For  the  above  reasons,  the  reader  will  be  disposed  to 
forgive  me  for  dwelling  so  long  and  so  strong  on  the  just- 
ness of  the  claims  of  these  people ;  and  for  my  occasional 
expressions  of  sadness,  when  my  heart  bleeds  for  the  fate 
that  awaits  the  remainder  of  their  unlucky  race ;  which  is 
long  to  be  outlived  by  the  rocks,  by  the  beasts,  and  even 
birds  and  reptiles  of  the  country  they  live  in ; — set  upon  by 
their  fellow-man,  whose  cupidity,  it  is  feared,  will  fix  no 
bounds  to  the  Indian's  earthly  calamity,  short  of  the  grave. 

I  cannot  help  but  repeat,  before  I  close  this  Letter,  that 
the  tribes  of  the  red  men  of  North  America,  as  a  nation  of 
human  beings,  are  on  their  wane ;  that  (to  use  their  own 
very  beautiful  figure)  "  they  are  fast  travelling  to  the  shades 
of  their  fathers,  towards  the  setting  sun;"  and  that  the 
traveller  who  would  see  these  people  in  their  native  simpli- 
city and  beauty,  must  needs  be  hastily  on  his  way  to  the 
prairies  and  Rocky  Mountains,  or  he  will  see  them  only  as 
they  are  now  seen  on  the  frontiers,  as  a  basket  of  dead  garner 
— harassed,  chased,  bleeding  and  dead ;  with  their  plumage 
and  colors  despoiled ;  to  be  gazed  amongst  in  vain  for  some 
system  or  moral,  or  for  some  scale  by  which  to  estimate  their 
true  native  character,  other  than  that  which  has  too  often 
recorded  them  but  a  dark  and  unintelligible  mass  of  cruelty 
and  barbarity. 

Without  further  comments  I  close  this  Letter,  introducing 
my  readers  at  once  to  the  heart  of  the  Indian  country,  only 
asking  their  forgiveness  for  having  made  it  so  long,  and  their 
patience  whilst  travelling  through  the  following  pages  (as  I 


I 


.  m 


82 


LETTBBS  AND  NOTES. 


journeyed  through  those  remote  realms)  in  search  of  infor- 
mation  and  rational  amusement;  in  tracing  out  the  true 
character  of  that  ^^  strange  anomaly"  of  man  in  the  simple 
elements  of  his  nature,  undissolved  or  compounded  into  the 
mysteries  of  enlightened  and  fashionable  life. 


'<:t 


infor- 

true 

Imple 

bo  the 


LETTER  No.  II. 
MOUTH  OF  YELLOW  STONE,  VPPER  MISSOURI,  1832. 

I  ARRIVED  at  this  place  yesterday  in  the  steamer  "  Yello-w 
Stone,"  after  a  voyage  of  nearly  three  months  from  St. 
Louis,  a  distance  of  two  thousand  miles,  the  greater  part  oi 
which  has  never  before  been  navigated  by  steam ;  and  the 
almost  insurmountable  difficulties  which  continually  oppose 
the  voyageur  on  this  turbid  stream,  have  been  by  degrees 
overcome  by  the  indefatigable  /eal  of  Mr.  Chouteau,  a  gen- 
tleman of  great  perseverance,  and  part  proprietor  of  the 
boat.  To  the  politeness  of  this  gentleman  I  am  indebted 
for  my  passage  from  St.  Louis  to  this  place,  and  I  had  also 
the  pleasure  of  his  company^  with  that  of  Major  Sanford, 
the  government  agent  for  the  Missouri  Indians. 

The  American  Fur  Company  have  erected  here,  for  their 
protection  against  the  savages,  a  very  substantial  Fort,  three 
hundred  feet  square,  with  bastions  armed  with  ordnance ; 
and  our  approach  to  it,  amid  the  continued  roar  of  cannon 
for  half  an  hour,  and  the  shrill  yells  of  the  half  affrighted 
savages,  who  lined  the  shores,  presented  a  scene  of  the  most 

8  (33) 


84 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


thrilling  and  picturesque  appearance.    A  voyage  so  full 
of  incident,  and  furnisLing  so  many  novel  scenes  of  the 
picturesque  and  romantic,  as  we  have  passed  the  numerous 
villages  of  the  "astonished  natives,"  saluting  them  with  the 
puffing  of  steam  and  the  thunder  of  artillery,  would  afford 
subject  for  many  epistles ;  and  I  cannot  deny  myself  the 
pleasure  of  occasionally  giving  you  some  little  sketches  of 
scenes  that  I  have  witnessed,  and  am  witnessing  ;  and  of  the 
singular  feelings  that  are  excited  in  the  breast  of  the  stran- 
ger travelling  through  this  interesting  country.    Interesting 
(as  I  have  ^aid)  and  luxurious^  for  this  is  truly  the  land  of 
Epicures ;  we  are  invited  by  the  savages  to  feasts  of  dogs' 
meat,  as  the  most  honorable  food  that  can  be  presented  to 
a  stranger,  and  glutted  with  the  more  delicious  food  of 
beavers'  tails,  and  buffaloes'  tongues.    You  will,  no  doubt, 
be  somewhat  surprised  on  the  receipt  of  a  Letter  from  me, 
so  far  strayed  into  the  Western  World;  and  still  more 
startled,  when  I  tell  you  that  I  am  here  in  the  full  enthu- 
siasm and  practice  of  my  art.     That  enthusiasn^  alone  has 
brought  me  into  this  remote  region,  three  thousand  five 
hundred  miles  from  my  native  so'.l;  the  last  two  thousand 
of  which  have  furnished  mc  with  almost  unlimited  models, 
both  in  landscape  and  the  human  figure,  exactly  suited  to 
my  feelings.     I  am  now  in  the  full  possession  and  enjoy- 
ments of  those  conditions,  on  which  alone  I  was  induced  to 
pursue  the  art  as  a  profession ;  and  in  anticipation  of  which 
alone,  my  admiration  for  the  art  could   ever  have  been 
kindled  into  a  pure  flame.    I  mean  the  free  use  of  nature's 
undisguised   models,   with   tlie   privilege   of  selecting  for 
mysolf     If  I  am  here  losing  the  benetit  of  the  fleeting 
fashions  of  the  day,  and  neglecting  that  elegant  polish, 
which  the  world  ^ay  an  artist  should  draw  from  a  con- 
tinual intercourse  with  the  polite  world ;  yet  have  I  this 
consolation,  that  in  this  country,  I  am  entirely  divested 
of  those  dangerous  steps  and  allurements  which  beset  n". 
artist   in  fashionable   life;    and   have  little   to  steal    i:.y 
thoughts  away  from  the  contemplation  of  the  beautiful 


,ot  p.". 
utiful 


1 

M 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


85 


models  that  are  about  me.  If,  also,  I  have  not  here  the 
benefit  of  that  feeling  of  emulation,  which  is  the  life  and 
spur  to  the  arts,  where  artists  are  associates  together ;  yet 
am  I  surrounded  by  living  models  of  such  elegance  and 
beauty,  that  I  feel  an  unceasing  excitement  of  a  much 
higher  order — the  certainty  that  I  am  drawing  knowledge 
from  the  true  source.  My  enthusiastic  admiration  of  man 
In  the  honest  and  elegant  simplicity  of  nature,  has  always 
fed  the  warmest  feelings  of  my  bosom,  and  shut  half  the 
avenues  to  my  heart  against  the  specious  refinements  of  the 
accomplished  world.  This  feeling,  together  with  the  desire 
to  study  my  art,  independently  of  the  embarrassments 
which  the  ridiculous  fashions  of  civilized  society  have 
thrown  in  its  way,  has  led  me  to  the  wilderness  for  a  while, 
as  the  true  school  of  the  arts. 

I  have  for  a  long  time  been  of  opinion,  that  the  wilder- 
ness of  our  country  afforded  models  equal  to  those  from 
which  the  Grecian  sculptors  transferred  to  the  marble  such 
inimitable  grace  and  beauty ;  and  I  am  now  more  confirmed 
in  this  opinion,  since  I  have  immersed  myself  in  the  midst 
of  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  these  knights  of  the 
forest ;  whose  lives  are  lives  of  chivalry,  and  wBose  daily 
feats,  with  their  naked  limbs,  might  vie  with  those  of  the 
Grecian  youths  in  the  beautiful  rivalry  of  the  Olympian 
games. 

No  man's  imagination,  with  all  the  aids  of  description 
that  can  be  given  to  it,  can  ■  ver  picture  the  beauty  and 
wildness  of  scenes  that  may  be  daily  witnessed  in  this  ro- 
mantic country ;  of  hundreds  of  these  graceful  youths,  with- 
out a  care  to  wrinkle,  or  a  fear  to  disturb  the  full  expression 
of  pleasure  and  enjoyment  that  beams  upon  their  faces — 
their  long  black  hair  mingling  with  their  horses'  tails,  float- 
ing in  the  wind,  while  they  are  flying  over  the  carpeted 
prairie,  and  dealing  death  with  their  spears  and  arrows,  to 
a  band  of  infuriated  buffaloes;  or  their  splendid  procession 
in  a  war  parade,  arrayed  in  all  their  gorgeous  colors  and 
trappings,  moving  with  most  exquisite  grace  and  manly 


86 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


^1 
^"1 


beauty,  added  to  that  bold  defiance  which  man  carries  on 
his  front,  who  acknowledges  no  superior  on  earth,  and  who 
is  amenable  to  no  laws  except  the  laws  of  God  and  honor. 

In  addition  to  the  knowledge  of  human  nature  and  of  my 
art,  which  I  hope  to  acquire  by  this  toilsome  and  expensive 
undertaking,  I  have  another  in  view,  which,  if  it  should  not 
be  of  equal  service  to  me,  will  be  of  no  less  interest  and 
value  to  posterity.  I  have,  for  many  years  past,  contem- 
plated the  noble  races  of  red  men  who  are  now  spread  over 
these  trackless  forests  and  boundless  prairies,  melting  away 
at  the  approach  of  civilization.  Their  rights  invaded,  their 
morals  corrupted,  their  lands  wrested  from  them,  their  cus- 
toms changed,  and  therefore  lost  to  the  world ;  and  they  at 
last  sunk  into  the  earth,  and  the  ploughshare  turning  the 
sod  over  their  graves,  and  I  have  flown  to  their  rescue — 
not  of  their  lives  or  of  their  race  (for  they  are  "  doomed^^  and 
must  perish,)  but  to  the  rescue  of  their  looks  and  their 
modes,  at  which  the  acquisitive  world  may  hurl  their  poison 
and  every  besom  of  destruction,  and  trample  them  down 
and  crush  them  to  death;  yet,  phoenix-like,  they  may  rif'e 
from  the  "  stain  on  a  painter's  palette,"  and  live  again  upon 
canvass,  and  stand  forth  for  centuries  yet  to  come,  the  living 
monuments  of  a  noble  race.  For  this  purpose,  I  have  de- 
signed to  visit  every  tribe  of  Indians  on  the  Continent,  if 
my  life  should  be  spared ;  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  por- 
traits of  distinguished  Indians,  of  both  sexes  in  each  tribe 
\)ainted  in  their  native  costume ;  accompanied  with  pictures 
of  their  villages,  domestic  habits,  games,  mysteries,  religious 
ceremonies,  &c.,  jvith  anecdotes,  traditions,  and  history  of 
their  respective  .nations. 

If  I  should  l;ve  to  accomplish  my  design,  the  result  of 
my  labors  will  doubtless  be  interesting  to  future  ages;  who 
will  have  little  else  loft  from  which  to  judge  of  the  original 
inhabitants  of  this  simple  race  of  beings,  who  require  but  a 
few  years  more  of  the  march  of  civilization  and  death,  to 
deprive  them  of  all  their  native  customs  and  character.  I 
have  been  kindly  supplied  by  the  Commander-in-chief  of 


i 


rORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


8; 


the  Army  and  the  Secretary  of  War,  with  letters  to  the 
commander  of  every  military  post,  and  every  Indian  agent 
on  the  Western  Frontier,  with  instructions  to  render  me  all 
the  facilities  in  their  power,  which  will  be  of  great  service 
to  me  in  so  arduous  an  undertaking.  The  opportunity  af- 
forded me  by  familiarity  with  so  many  tribes  of  human 
beings  in  the  simplicity  of  nature,  devoid  of  the  deformities 
of  art;  of  drawing  fair  conclusions  in  the  interesting  sciences 
of  physiognomy  and  phrenology;  of  manners  and  customs, 
rites,  ceremonies,  &c.;  and  the  opportunity  of  examining 
the  geology  and  mineralogy  of  this  western,  and  yet  unex- 
plored country,  will  enable  me  occasionally  to  entertain  you 
with  much  new  and  interesting  information,  which  I  shall 
take  equal  pleasure  in  communicating  by  an  occasional 
Letter  in  my  clumsy  way. 


''^itaKj^Vn^ 


LETTER  No.  III. 
MOUTH  OP  YELLOW  STONE,  UPPER  MISSOURI. 

SiNCK  the  date  of  my  former  Letter,  I  have  been  so  mucli 
engaged  in  the  amusements  of  the  country,  and  the  use  of 
my  brush,  that  I  have  scarcely  been  able  to  drop  you  a  line 
until  the  present  moment. 

Before  I  let  you  into  the  amusements  and  customs  of  this 
delightful  country  however,  (and  which,  as  yet,  are  secrets 
to  most  of  the  world,  I  must  hastily  travel  with  you  over 
the  tedious  journey  of  two  thousand  miles,  from  St.  Louis 
to  this  place ;  over  which  distance  one  is  obliged  to  pass, 
before  he  can  reach  this  wild  and  lovely  spot. 

The  Missouri  is,  perhaps,  different  in  appearance  and 
character  from  all  other  rivers  in  the  world;  there  is  a 
terror  in  its  manner  which  is  sensibly  felt,  the  moment  we 
enter  its  muddy  waters  from  the  Mississippi.  From  the 
mouth  of  the  Yellow  Stone  River,  which  is  the  place  from 
whence  I  am  now  writing,  to  its  junction  with  the  Missis- 
sippi, a  distance  of  two  thousand  miles,  the  Missouri,  with 
its  boiling,  turbid  waters,  sweeps  off,  in  one  unceasing 
current;  and  in  the  whole  distance  there  is  scarcely  au 
(38) 


KORTH  AMERICAN  INDIiN'S. 


89 


ice  and 
Ire  is  a 
lent  we 
lorn  the 
Ice  from 

Missis- 
[ri,  with 
[ceasing 

•ely  an 


'i. 


eddy  or  resting-place  for  a  canoe.  Owing  to  the  continual 
falling  in  of  its  rich  alluvial  banks,  its  water  is  always 
turbid  and  opaque;  having,  at  all  seasons  of  the  year,  the 
color  of  a  cup  of  chocolate  or  coffee,  with  sugar  and  cream 
stirred  into  it.  To  give  a  better  definition  of  its  density 
and  opacity,  I  have  tried  a  number  of  timple  experiments 
with  it  at  this  place,  and  at  other  points  below,  at  the 
results  of  which  I  was  exceedingly  surprised.  By  placing 
a  piece  of  silver  (and  afterwards  a  piece  of  shell,  which  is 
a  much  whiter  substance)  in  a  tumbler  of  its  water,  and 
looking  through  the  side  of  the  glass,  I  ascertained  that 
those  substances  could  not  be  seen  through  the  eighth  part 
of  an  inch;  this,  however,  is  in  the  spring  of  the  year, 
when  the  freshet  is  upon  the  river,  rendering  the  water, 
undoubtedly,  much  more  turbid  than  i),  would  be  at  other 
seasons ;  though  it  is  always  muddy  and  yellow,  and  from 
its  boiling  and  wild  character  and  uncommon  color,  a 
stranger  would  think,  even  in  its  lowest  state,  that  there 
was  a  freshet  upon  it. 

For  the  distance  of  one  thousand  miles  above  St.  Louis, 
the  shores  of  this  river  (and,  in  many  places,  the  whole  bed 
of  the  stream)  are  filled  with  snags  and  raft,  formed  of 
trees  of  the  largest  size,  which  have  been  undermined  by 
the  falling  banks  and  cast  into  the  stream;  their  roots 
becoming  fastened  in  the  bottom  of  the  river,  with  their 
tops  floating  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  pointing  down 
the  stream,  forming  the  most  frightful  and  discouraging 
prospect  for  the  adventurous  voyageur. 

Almost  every  island  and  sand-bar  is  covered  with  huge 
piles  of  these  floating  trees,  and  when  the  river  is  flooded, 
its  surface  is  almost  literallv  covered  with  floating  raft  and 
drift-wood  which  bid  positive  defiance  to  keel-boats  and 
steamers,  on  their  way  up  the  river. 

With  what  propriety  this  '*  Hell  of  waters"  might  be 
denominated  the  "  River  Styx,"  I  will  not  undertake  to 
decide ;  but  nothing  could  be  more  appropriate  or  innocent 
than  to  call  it  the  Kiver  of  Sticks. 


I 


1^ 


if 


40 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


The  scene  ia  not,  however,  all  so  dreary ;  tlicre  is  a 
redeeming  beauty  in  the  green  and  carpeted  hhores,  which 
hem  in  this  huge  and  terrible  deformity  of  waters.  There 
is  much  of  the  way  though,  where  the  mighty  forests  of 
stately  cotton-wood  stand,  and  frown  in  horrid  dark  and 
coolness  over  the  filthy  abyss  below ;  into  which  they  are 
ready  to  plunge  headlong,  when  the  mud  and  soil  in  which 
they  were  germed  and  reared  have  been  washed  out  from 
underneath  them,  and  with  the  rolling  current  are  mixed, 
and  on  their  way  to  the  ocean. 

The  greater  part  of  the  shores  of  this  river,  liowevcj, 
are  without  timber,  where  the  eye  is  delightfully  relieved 
by  wandering  over  the  beautiful  prairies ;  most  of  the  way 
gracefully  sloping  down  to  the  water's  edge,  carpeted  with 
the  deepest  green,  and,  in  distance,  softening  into  velvet  of 
the  richest  hues,  entirely  beyond  the  reach  of  the  artist's 
pencil.  Such  is  the  character  of  the  upper  part  of  the 
river  especially ;  and  as  one  advances  towards  its  source, 
and  through  its  upper  half,  it  becomes  more  pleasing  to  the 
eye,  for  snags  and  raft  are  no  longer  to  be  seen ;  yet  the 
current  holds  its  stift'  and  onward  turbid  character. 

It  has  been,  heretofore,  very  erroneously  represented  to 
the  world,  that  the  scenery  on  this  river  was  monotonous, 
and  wanting  in  picturesque  beauty.  This  intelligence  is 
surely  incorrect,  and  that  because  it  has  been  brought  per- 
haps, by  men  who  are  not  the  best  judges  in  the  world,  of 
Nature's  beautiful  works;  and  if  they  were,  they  always 
pass  them  by,  in  pain  or  desperate  distress,  in  toil  and 
trembling  fear  for  the  safety  of  their  furs  and  peltries,  or 
for  their  lives,  which  are  at  the  mercy  of  the  yelling 
savages  who  inhabit  this  delightful  country. 

One  thousand  miles  or  more  of  the  upper  part  of  the 
river,  was,  to  my  eye,  like  fairy-land  ;  and  during  our 
transit  through  that  part  of  our  voyage,  I  was  most  of  the 
time  rivetted  to  the  deck  of  the  h  it,  indulging  my  eyes 
in  the  boundless  and  tireless  pleasure  uf  roaming  over  the 
tliousand  hills,  and  bluffs,  and  dales,  a  id  ravines;  where 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


4!k 


.  of  the 


the  astonished  herds  of  buffaloes,  of  elks,  and  antelopes, 
and  sneaking  wolves,  and  mountain-goats,  were  to  be  seen 
bounding  up  and  down  and  over  the  green  fields;  each  one 
and  each  tribe,  band,  and  gang,  taking  their  own  way,  and 
using  their  own  means  to  the  greatest  advantage  possible, 
to  leave  the  sight  and  sound  of  the  pufTing  of  our  boat ; 
which  was,  for  the  first  time,  saluting  the  green  and  wild 
shores  of  the  Missouri  with  the  din  of  mighty  steam. 

From  St.  Louis  to  the  falls  of  the  Missouri,  a  distance  of 
two  thousand  six  hundred  miles,  is  one  continued  prairie ; 
with  the  exception  of  a  few  of  the  bottoms  formed  along 
the  bank  of  the  river,  and  the  streams  which  are  foiling 
into  it,  which  are  often  covered  with  the  most  luxuriant 
growth  of  forest  timber. 

The  summit  level  of  the  great  prairies  stretching  off  to 
the  west  and  the  east  from  the  river,  to  an  almost  boundless 
extent,  is  from  two  to  three  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  river ;  which  has  formed  a  bed  or  valley  for  its  course, 
varying  in  width  from  two  to  twenty  miles.  This  channel 
or  valley  has  been  evidently  produced  by  the  force  of  the 
current,  which  has  gradually  exca\-ated,  in  its  floods  and 
gorges,  this  immense  space,  and  sent  its  d&bris  into  the 
ocean.  By  the  continual  overflowing  of  the  river,  its  de- 
posits have  been  lodged  and  left  with  a  horizontal  surface, 
spreading  the  deepest  and  richest  alluvion  over  the  surface 
of  its  meadows  on  either  side;  through  which  the  river 
winds  its  serpentine  course,  alternately  running  from  one 
bluff  to  the  other,  which  present  themselves  to  its  shores  in 
all  the  most  picturesque  and  beautiful  shapes  and  colors 
imaginable — some  with  their  green  sides  gracefully  slope 
down  in  the  most  lovely  groups  to  the  water's  edge;  whilst 
others,  divested  of  their  verdure,  present  themselves  in 
immense  masses  of  clay  of  different  colors,  which  arrest 
the  eye  of  the  traveller,  with  the  most  curious  views  in  the 
world. 

These  strange  and  picturesque  appearances  have  been 
produced  by  the  rains  and  frosts  which  are  continually 


li 


42 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


changing  tlic  dimensions,  and  varying  the  thousand  shapes 
of  these  denuded  hills,  by  washing  down  their  sides  and 
carrying  them  into  the  river. 

Amongst  these  groups  may  be  seen  tens  and  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  different  forms  and  figures,  of  the  sublime 
and  the  picturesque;  in  many  places  for  miles  together,  as 
the  boat  glides  along,  there  is  one  continued  appearance, 
before  and  behind  us,  of  some  ancient  and  boundless  city 
in  ruins — ramparts,  terraces,  domes,  towers,  citadels  and 
castles  may  be  seen, — cupolas,  and  magnificent  porticoes, 
and  here  and  there  a  solitary  column  and  crumbling 
pedestal,  and  even  spires  of  clay  which  stand  alone — and 
glistening  in  the  distance,  as  the  sun's  rays  are  refracted 
back  by  the  thousand  crysiais  of  gypsum  which  are 
imbedded  in  the  clay  of  which  they  are  formed.  Over  and 
through  these  groups  of  domes  and  battlements  (as  one  is 
compelled  to  imagine  them,)  the  sun  sends  his  long  and 
gilding  rays,  at  morn  or  in  the  evening;  giving  life  and 
light,  by  aid  of  shadows  cast,  to  the  different  glowing 
colors  of  these  clay-built  ruins;  shedding  a  glory  over  the 
solitude  of  this  wild  and  pictured  country,  which  no  one 
can  realize  unless  he  travels  here  and  looks  upon  it. 

It  is  amidst  these  wild  and  quiet  haunts  that  the  moun- 
tain-sheep, and  the  fleet-bounding  antelope  sport  and  live 
in  herds,  secure  from  their  enemies,  to  whom  the  sides  and 
slopes  of  these  blufls  (around  which  they  fearlessly  bound) 
are  nearly  inaccessible. 

The  grizzly  bear  also  has  chosen  these  places  for  his 
abode ;  he  sullenly  sneaks  through  the  gulphs  and  chasms, 
and  ravines,  and  frowns  away  the  lurking  Indian ;  whilst  the 
mountain-sheep  and  antelope  are  bounding  over  and  around 
the  hill-tops,  safe  and  free  from  harm  of  man  and  beast. 

Such  is  a  hasty  sketch  of  the  river  scenes  and  scenery  for 
two  thousand  miles,  over  which  we  tugged,  and  puffed,  and 
blowcd,  and  toiled  for  three  months,  before  we  reached  this 
place.  Since  we  arrived  here,  the  steamer  has  returned 
and  left  me  h(;re  to  explore  the  country  and  visit  the  tribes 


no  one 


for  his 
1  chasms, 
Ihilst  the 
around 
least, 
ncry  for 
Fed,  and 
hod  this 
[•eturned 
10  tribes 


I 


NOBTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


48 


in  this  vicinity,  and  then  descend  the  river  from  this  place 
to  St.  Louis ;  which  Tour,  if  I  live  through  it,  will  furnish 
material  for  many  a  story  and  curious  incident,  which  I 
may  give  you  in  detail  in  future  epistles,  and  when  I  have 
more  leisure  than  I  have  at  the  present  moment.  I  vfill 
men  undertake  to  tell  how  we  astonished  the  natives,  in 
many  an  instance,  which  I  can  in  this  Letter  but  just  hint 
at  and  say  adieu.  If  anything  did  ever  literally  and  com- 
pletely "astonish  (and  astound)  the  natives,"  it  was  the 
appearance  of  our  steamer,  pufl&ng  and  blowing,  and  pad- 
dling and  rushing  by  their  villages  which  were  on  the 
banks  of  the  river. 

These  poor  and  ignorant  people  for  the  distance  of  two 
thousand  miles,  had  never  before  seen  or  heard  of  a  steam- 
boat, and  in  some  places  they  seemed  at  a  loss  to  know  what 
to  do,  or  how  to  act ;  they  could  not,  as  the  Dutch  did  at 
Newburgh,  on  the  Hudson  River,  take  it  to  be  a  ^^ floating 
saw-mill" — and  they  had  no  name  for  it — so  it  was,  like 
every  thing  else  (with  them,)  which  is  mysterious  and  unac- 
countable, called  medicine  (mystery).  We  had  ou  board  one 
twelve-pound  cannon  and  three  or  four  eight-pound  swivels, 
which  we  were  taking  up  to  arm  the  Fur  Company's  Fort  at 
the  mouth  of  Yellow  Stone ;  and  at  the  approach  to  every 
village  they  were  all  discharged  several  times  in  rapid  suc- 
cession, which  threw  the  inhabitants  into  utter  confusion 
and  amazement — some  of  them  laid  their  faces  to  the 
ground,  and  cried  to  the  Great  Spirit — some  shot  their 
horses  and  dogs,  and  sacrificed  them  to  appease  the  Great 
Spirit,  whom  they  conceived  was  offended — some  deserted 
their  villages  and  ran  to  the  tops  of  the  bluffs  some  miles 
distant ;  and  others,  in  some  places,  as  the  boat  landed  in 
front  of  their  villages  came  with  great  caution,  and  peeped 
over  the  bank  of  the  river  to  see  the  fate  of  their  chiefs, 
whose  duty  it  was  (from  the  nature  of  their  office)  to 
approach  us,  whether  friends  or  foes,  and  to  go  on  board. 
Sometimes,  in  this  plight,  they  were  instantly  thrown 
'  neck  and  heels'  over  each  other's  heads  and  shoulders — 


44 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


men,  women  and  children,  and  dogs — sage,  sachem,  old 
and  young — all  in  a  mass,  at  the  frightful  discharge  of  the 
steam  from  the  escape-pipe,  which  the  captain  of  the  boat 
let  loose  upon  them  for  his  own  fun  and  amusement. 

There  were  many  curious  conjectures  amongst  their  wise 
men,  with  regard  to  the  nature  and  powers  of  the  steam- 
boat. Amongst  the  Mandans,  some  called  it  the  "big 
thunder  canoe :"  for  when  in  distance  below  the  village, 
they  "  saw  the  lightning  flash  from  its  sides,  and  heard  the 
thunder  come  from  it ;"  others  called  it  the  "  big  medicine 
canoe  with  eyes ;"  it  was  medicine  (mystery)  because  they 
couFd  not  understand  it ;  and  it  must  have  eyes,  for  said 
they,  "  it  sees  its  own  way,  and  takes  the  deep  water  in  the 
middle  of  the  channel." 

They  had  no  idea  of  the  boat  being  steered  by  the  man 
at  the  wheel,  and  well  they  might  have  been  astonished  at 
its  taking  the  deepest  water.  I  may  (if  I  do  not  forget  it) 
hereafter  give  you  an. account  of  some  other  curious  inci- 
dents of  this  kind,  which  wc  met  with  in  this  voyage ;  for 
we  met  many,  and  some  of  them  were  really  laughable. 

The  Fort  in  which  I  am  residing  was  built  by  Mr. 
M'Kenzie,  who  now  occupies  it.  It  is  the  largest  and  best- 
built  establishment  of  the  kind  ou  the  river,  being  the  great 
or  principal  head-quarters  and  depot  of  the  Fur  Company's 
business  in  this  region.  A  vast  stock  of  goods  is  kept  ou 
hand  at  this  place ;  and  at  certain  times  of  the  year  the 
numerous  out-posts  concentrate  here  with  the  returns  of 
their  season's  trade,  and  refit  out  with  a  fresh  supply  of 
goods  to  trade  with  the  Indians. 

The  site  for  the  Fort  is  well  selected,  being  a  beautiful 
prairie  on  the  bank  near  tlie  junction  of  the  Missouri  with 
the  Yellow  Stone  rivers ;  and  its  inmates  and  its  stores 
well  protected  from  Indian  assaults. 

Mr.  M'Kenzie  ia  a  kind-hearted  and  high-minded  Scotch- 
man ;  and  seems  to  have  charge  of  all  the  Fur  Companies' 
business  in  this  region,  and  from  this  to  the  Kocky 
Mountains.    He  lives  in  good  and  comfortable  style  inside 


'1 


NOKTH   AMERICAN   INDIANS. 


46 


Scotch- 
npanies' 
Kocky 
e  inside 


of  the  Fort,  which  contains  some  eight  or  ten  log-houses 
and  stores,  and  has  generally  forty  or  fifty  men,  and  one 
hundred  and  fifty  horses  about  him. 

He  has,  with  the  same  spirit  of  liberality  and  politeness 
with  which  Mens.  Pierre  Chouteau  treated  me  on  my 
passage  up  the  river,  pronounced  me  welcome  at  his  table, 
which  groans  under  the  luxuries  of  the  country;  with 
bufialo  meat  and  tongues,  with  beavers'  tails  and  marrow- 
fat; but  sans  cofiee,  sans  bread  and  butter.  Good'  cheer 
and  good  living  we  get  at  it,  however,  and  good  wine  also ; 
for  a  bottle  of  Madeira  and  one  of  excellent  Port  are  set  in 
a  pail  of  ice  every  day,  and  exhausted  at  dinner. 

At  the  hospitable  board  of  this  gentleman  I  found  also 
another,  who  forms  a  happy  companion  for  mine  host;  and 
whose  intellectual  and  polished  society  has  added  not  a 
little  to  my  pleasure  and  amusement  since  I  arrived  here. 

The  gentleman  of  whom  I  am  speaking  is  an  Englishman, 
by  the  name  of  Hamilton,  of  the  most  pleasing  and  enter- 
taining conversation,  whose  mind  seems  to  be  a  complete 
store-house  of  ancient  and  modern  literature  and  art ;  and 
whoso  free  and  familiar  acquaintance  with  the  manners  and 
men  of  his  country  gives  him  the  stamp  of  a  gentleman, 
who  has  had  the  curiosity  to  bring  the  embellishments  of 
the  enlightened  world,  to  contrast  with  the  rude  and  the 
wild  of  these  remote  regions. 

"We  three  bans  vivants  form  the  group  about  the  dinner- 
table,  of  which  I  have  before  spoken,  and  crack  our  jokes 
and  fun  over  bottles  of  Port  and  Madeira,  and  a  consider- 
able part  of  which,  this  gentleman  has  brought  with  great 
and  precious  care  from  his  own  country. 

This  post  is  the  general  rendezvous  of  a  great  number  of 
Indian  tribes  in  these  regions,  who  are  continually  con- 
centrating here  for  the  purpose  of  trade;  sometimes 
coming,  the  whole  tribe  together,  in  a  mass.  There  are 
now  here,  and  encamped  about  the  Fort,  a  great  many, 
and  I  am  continually  at  work  with  my  brush ;  we  have 
around  us  at  this  time  the  Knisteneaux,  Crows,  Assinno- 


^V'i 


h  'J'' 


"I 

'■■I,. 


46 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES. 


boins  and  Blackfeet,  and  in  a  few  days  are  to  have  large 
accessions. 

The  finest  specimens  of  Indians  on  the  Continent  are 
in  these  regions;  and  lefore  I  leave  these  parts,  I  shall 
make  excursions  into  their  respective  countries,  to  their 
own  native  fire-sides;  and  there  study  their  looks  and 
peculiar  customs :  enabling  me  to  drop  you  now  and  then 
an  interesting  Letter.  The  tribes  which  I  shall  be  enabled 
to  see  and  study  b;,  my  visit  to  this  region,  are  the  Ojibbe- 
ways,  the  Assinneboins,  Knisteneaux,  Blackfeet,  Crows, 
Shiennes,  Grosventres,  Mandans,  and  others ;  of  whom  and 
their  customs,  their  history,  traditions,  costumes,  &c.,  I  shall 
in  due  season,  give  you  further  and  minute  accounts. 


ve  large 

lent  are 

I  shall 

to  their 

aka  and 

.nd  then 

enabled 

5  Ojibbe- 

Crows, 

hom  and 

[?.,  I  shall 

its. 


I    m 


.*v 


LETTER— No.  IV. 

MOUTH  OF  YELLOW  STONE. 

The  several  tribes  of  Indians  inhabiting  the  regions  ol 
the  Upper  Missouri,  and  of  whom  I  spoke  in  my  last  Letter, 
are  undoubtedly  the  finest-looking,  best  equipped,  and  most 
beautifully  costumed  of  any  on  the  Continent.  They  live 
in  a  country  well-stocked  with  buffaloes  and  wild  horses, 
which  furnish  them  an  excellent  and  easy  living;  their  at- 
mosphere is  pure,  which  produces  good  health  and  long 
life ;  and  they  are  the  most  independent  and  the  happiest 
races  of  Indians  I  have  met  with :  they  are  all  entirely  in  a 
state  of  primitive  wildness,  and  consequently  are  picturesque 
and  handsome,  almost  beyond  description.  Nothing  in  the 
world,  of  its  kind,  can  possibly  surpass  in  beauty  and  grace, 
some  of  their  games  and  amusements — their  gambols  and 
parades,  of  which  I  shall  speak  and  paint  hereafter. 

As  far  as  my  travels  have  yet  led  me  into  the  Indian 
country,  I  have  more  than  realized  my  former  predictions 
that  those  Indians  who  could  be  found  most  entirely  in  a 

(47) 


m 


48 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


state  of  nature,  with  the  least  knowledge  of  civilized  society, 
■would  be  found  to  be  the  most  cleanly  in  their  persons, 
elegant  in  their  dress  and  manners,  and  enjoying  life  to  the 
greatest  perfection.  Of  such  tribes,  perhaps  the  Crows  and 
Blackfoet  stand  first;  and  no  one  would  be  able  to  appreciate 
the  richness  and  elegance  (and  even  taste  too,)  with  which 
some  of  these  people  dress,  without  seeing  them  in  their 
own  country.  I  will  do  all  I  can,  however,  to  make  their 
looks  as  well  as  customs  known  to  the  world ;  I  will  paint 
with  my  brush  and  scribble  with  my  pen,  and  bring  their 
plum>  s  and  plumage,  dresses,  weapons  &c.,  and  every  thing 
but  the  Indian  himself,  to  prove  to  the  world  the  assertions 
which  I  have  made  above. 

Every  one  of  these  red  sons  of  the  forest  (or  rather  of 
the  prairie)  is  a  knight  and  lord — his  squaws  are  his  slaves; 
the  only  thing  which  he  deems  worthy  of  his  exertions  are 
to  mount  his  snorting  steed,  with  his  bow  and  qui\cr  slung, 
his  arrow-shield  upon  his  arm,  and  his  long  lance  glistening 
in  the  war-parade ;  or,  divested  of  all  his  plumes  and  trap- 
pings, armed  with  a  simple  bow  and  quiver,  to  })lunge  his 
steed  amongst  the  flying  herds  of  buft'aloes,  and  with  his 
sinewy  bow,  which  he  seldom  bends  in  vain,  to  drive  deep 
to  life's  fountain  the  whizzing  arrow. 

The  bullalo  herds  which  graze  in  almost  countless  num- 
bers on  these  beautiful  prairies,  afford  them  an  abundance 
of  meat ;  and  so  much  is  it  preferred  to  all  other,  that  the 
deer,  the  elk,  and  the  antelope  sport  upon  the  prairies  in 
herds  in  the  greatest  security;  as  the  Indians  seldom  kill 
them,  unless  they  want  their  skins  for  a  dress.  The  bufliilo 
(or  more  correctly  speaking  bison)  is  a  noble  animal,  that 
roams  over  the  vast  prairies,  from  the  borders  of  Mexico  on 
the  south,  to  Hudson's  Bay  on  the  north.  Their  size  is 
somewhat  above  that  of  our  common  bullock,  and  their  flesh 
of  a  delicious  flavor,  resembling  and  equalling  that  of  fat 
beef.  Their  llesh  which  is  easily  procured,  furnishes  the 
savages  of  these  vast  regions  the  means  of  a  wholesome  and 
good  subsistence,  and  they  live  almost  exclusively  upou  it 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


49 


society, 
persons, 
fe  to  the 
■0W9  and 
^pieoiate 
tla  which 

in  their 
ake  their 
rill  paint 
ing  their 
ery  thing 
assertions 

rather  of 
lis  slaves; 
iftions  are 
\cr  slung, 
glistening 
1  and  trap- 
plunge  his 
.  with  his 
Irive  deep 

tless  num- 
ihundance 
that  the 
•rairies  in 
ieldom.  kill 
'he  buffalo 
inmal,  that 
iMexico  on 
cir  size  is 
their  flesh 
that  of  fat 
•nishcs  the 
t'somo  and 
ily  upon  it 


— converting  the  skins,  horns,  hoofs  and  bones,  to  the  con- 
Btruction  of  dresses,  shields,  bows,  «Scc.  The  buffalo  bull  ia 
one  of  the  most  formidable  and  frightful-looking  animals 
in  the  world  when  excited  to  resistance;  his  long  shaggy 
mane  hangs  in  great  profusion  over  his  neck  and  shoulders, 
and  often  extends  quite  down  to  the  ground.  The  cow  is 
less  in  stature,  and  less  ferocious;  though  not  much  less 
wild  and  frightful  in  her  appearance. 


AMERICAN  BISON — FEJIALT.  IX  TUE  DISTANCE. 

The  mode  in  which  these  Indians  kill  this  noble  animal 
is  spirited  and  thrilling  in  the  extreme ;  and  I  must,  in  a 
future  epistle,  give  you  a  minute  account  of  it.  I  have 
almosi  daily  accompanied  parties  of  Indians  to  see  the  fun, 
and  have  often  shared  in  it  myself;  but  much  oftener  ran 
my  horse  by  their  sides,  to  see  how  the  thing  was  done — 
to  study  the  modes  and  expressions  of  these  splendid  scenes, 
which  I  am  industriously  putting  upon  the  canvass. 

They  are  all  (or  nearly  so)  killed  with  arrows  and  the 
lance,  while  at  full  speed ;  and  the  reader  may  easily  im- 


n 


i 


60 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON"  THE 


agine,  that  these  scenes  afford  the  most  spirited  and  pictur- 
esque views  of  the  sporting  kind  that  can  possibly  be  seen. 
At  present,  I  will  give  a  little  sketch  of  a  bit  of  fun  I 
joined  in  yesterday,  with  Mr.  M'Kenzie  and  a  number  of 
his  men,  without  the  company  or  aid  of  Indians. 

I  mentioned  the  other  day,  that  M'Kenzie's  table  from 
day  to  day  groans  under  the  weight  of  buffalo  tongues  and 
beavers'  tails,  and  other  luxuries  of  this  western  land.  He 
has  within  his  Fort  a  spacious  ice-house,  in  which  he  pre- 
serves his  meat  fresh  for  any  length  of  time  required:  and 
sometimes,  when  his  larder  runs  low,  he  starts  out,  rallying 
some  five  or  six  of  his  best  hunters  (not  to  hunt,  but  to  "go 
for  meat.")  He  leads  the  party,  mounted  on  his  favorite 
buffalo  horse  {i.  e.  the  horse  amongst  his  whole  group  which 
is  best  trained  to  run  the  buffalo,)  trailing  a  light  and  short 
gun  in  his  hand,  such  an  one  as  he  can  most  easily  reload 
whilst  his  horse  is  at  full  speed. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  the  ice-house  yesterday  morn- 
ing, which  caused  these  self-catering  gentlemen  to  cast  tlieir 
eyes  with  a  wishful  look  over  the  prairies ;  and  such  was 
the  plight  in  which  our  host  took  the  lead,  and  I,  and  then 
Mens.  Chardon,  and  Ba'tiste,  D<5fonde  and  TuUock  (who  is 
a  trader  amongst  the  Crows,  and  is  here  at  this  time,  with 
a  large  party  of  that  tribe,)  and  there  were  several  others 
whose  names  I  do  not  know. 

As  we  were  mounted  and  ready  to  start,  McKenzie 
called  up  some  four  or  five  of  his  men,  and  told  them  to 
follow  immediately  on  our  trail,  with  as  many  one-horse 
carts,  which  they  were  to  harness  up,  to  bring  home  the 
meat;  "ferry  them  across  the  river  in  the  scow,"  said  he, 
"and  following  our  trail  through  the  bottom,  you  will  find 
us  on  the  plain  yonder,  between  the  Yellow  Stone  and 
the  Missouri  rivers,  with  meat  enough  to  load  you  home. 
My  watch  on  yonder  bluff  has  just  told  us  by  his  signals, 
that  there  are  cattle  a  plenty  on  that  spot,  and  we  are  going 
there  as  fast  as  possible."  We  all  crossed  the  river,  and 
galloped  away  a  couple  of  miles  or  so,  when  we  mounted 


WOKTH  AHF"'CAJS'  INDIAJIS. 


CI 


d  pictur- 

be  seen. 

of  fun  I 

imber  of 

ble  from 
gues  and 
md.  He 
I  be  pre- 
.red:  and 
,  rallying 
ut  to  "go 
3  favorite 
lup  wbich 
and  short 
ily  reload 

lay  morn- 
cast  their 
such  'was 
and  then 
(who  is 
ime,  with 
ral  others 

^fcKenzie 

them  to 

one-horse 

lome  the 

said  he, 

will  find 

)tone  and 

ou  home. 

signals, 

are  going 

river,  and 

mounted 


■t 


■?ii' 


the  bluff;  and  to  be  sure,  as  was  said,  there  was  in  full 
view  of  us  a  fine  herd  of  some  four  or  five  hundred 
buffaloes,  perfectly  at  rest,   and  in  their  own  estimation 
(probably)  perfectly  secure.    Some  were  grazing,  and  others 
were  lying  down  and  sleeping ;  we  advanced  within  a  mile 
or  so  of  them  in  full  view,  and  came  to  a  halt.    Mons. 
Chardon  •'  tossed  the  feather"  (a  custom  always  observed, 
to  try  the  course  of  the  wind),  and  we  commenced  "  strip- 
ping" as  it  is  termed  (t.  e.  every  man  strips  himself  and  his 
horse  of  every  extraneous  and  unnecessary  appendage  of 
dress,  &c.,  that  might  be  an  incumbrance  in  running) :  hats 
are  laid  off,  and  coats — and  bullet-pouches;   sleeves  are 
rolled  up,  a  handkerchief  tied  tightly  around  the  head,  and 
another  around  the  waist — cartridges  are  prepared  and 
placed  in  the  waist-coat  pocket,  or  a  half  dozen  bullets 
"thro wed  into  the  mouth,"  &c.,  &c.,  all  of  which  takes  up 
some  ten  or  fifteen  minutes,  and  is  not,  in  appearance  or  in 
effect,  unlike  a  council  of  war.    Our  leader  lays  the  whole 
plan  of  the  chase,  and  preliminaries  all  fixed,  guns  charged 
and  ramrods  in  our  hands,  we  mount  and  start  for  the 
onset.    The  horses  are  all  trained  for  this  business,  and 
seem  to  enter  into  it  with  as  much  enthusiasm,  and  with  as 
restless  a  spirifr  as  the  riders  themselves.    While  "  strip- 
ping" and  mounting,  they  exhibit  the  most  restless  im- 
patience ;  and  when  "  approaching" — (which  is,   all  of  us 
abreast,  upon  a  slow  walk,  and  in  a  straight  line  towards 
the  herd,  until  they  discover  us  and  run),  they  all  seem  to 
have  caught  entirely  the  spirit  of  the  chase,  for  the  laziest 
nag  amongst  them  prances  with  an  elasticity  in  his  step — 
champing  his  bit — his  ears  erect — ^his  eyes  strained  out  of 
his  head,  and  fixed  upon  the  game  before  him,  whilst  he 
trembles  under  the  saddle  of  his  rider.    In  this  way  we 
carefully  and  silently  marched,  until  within  some  forty  or 
fifty  rods;  when  the  herd  discovering  us,  wheeled  and  laid 
their  course  in  a  mass.    At  this  instant  we  started  I  (and  all 
mist  start,  for  no  one  could  check  the  fury  of  those  steeds 
at  that  moment  of  excitement,)  and  away  all  sailed,  and 


1-M 


;i 


r !    ■! 


62 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


over  the  prairie  flew,  in  a  cloud  of  dust  which  was  raised 
by  their  trampling  hoofs,  McKenzie  was  foremost  in  the 
throng,  and  soon  dashed  off  amidst  the  dust  and  was  out  of 
sight — he  was  after  the  fattest  and  the  fastest.  I  had  dis 
covered  a  huge  bull  whose  shoulders  towered  above  the 
whole  band,  and  I  picked  my  way  through  the  crowd  to 
get  alongside  of  him.  I  went  not  for  "  meat,"  but  for  a 
trophy;  I  wanted  his  head  and  horns.  I  dashed  along 
through  the  thundering  mass,  as  they  swept  away  over  the 
plain,  scarcely  able  to  tell  wliether  I  was  on  a  buffalo's 
back  or  my  horse — hit,  and  hooked,  and  jostled  about,  till 
at  length  I  found  myself  alongside  of  my  game,  when  I 
gave  him  a  shot,  as  I  passed  him.  I  saw  guns  flash  in 
several  directions  about  mo,  but  I  heard  them  not.  Amidst 
the  trampling  throng,  Mons.  Chardon  had  wounded  a 
stately  bull,  and  at  this  moment  was  passing  him  again 
with  his  piece  levelled  for  another  shot ;  they  were  both 
at  full  speed  and  I  also,  witliin  the  reach  of  the  muzzle  of 
my  gun,  when  the  bull  instantly  turned  receiving  the 
horse  upon  his  horns,  and  tlie  ground  received  poor 
Chardon,  who  made  a  frog's  leap  of  some  twenty  feet  or 
more  over  the  bull's  back  and  almost  under  my  horse's 
heels.  I  wheeled  my  horse  as  soon  as  pt)ssible  and  rode 
back,  where  lay  poor  Chardon,  gasping  to  start  his  breath 
again ;  and  within  a  few  paces  of  him  his  huge  victim, 
with  his  heels  high  in  the  air,  and  tlie  horse  lying  across 
him.  I  dismounted  instantly,  but  Chardon  was  raising 
himself  on  his  hands,  with  his  eyes  and  mouth  full  of  dirt, 
and  feeling  for  his  gun,  which  lay  about  thirty  feet  in 
advance   of  him.      "  Heaven   spare    you  1   are    you    hurt 

Chardon  ?"    "  hi — hie hie hie hie ^hio 

-hie no no,  I  believe  not. 


-no, 


Oh !  this  is  not  much.  Mens.  Cataline — this  is  nothing  new 
— but  this  is  a  hard  piece  of  ground  here — hie — oh !  hie  1" 
At  this  the  poor  fellow  fainted,  but  in  a  few  moments  arose, 
picked  up  his  gun,  took  his  horse  by  the  bit;  v/hich  then 
opened  lUi  eyes,  and  with  a  hie  and  a  ugh — ughk  !  sprang 


IS  raised 
5t  in  the 
19  out  of 
had  dis 
)ove  the 
!rowd  to 
lut  for  a 
id  along 
over  the 
buffalo's 
bout,  till 
,  when  I 
flash  in 
Amidst 
>undcd  a 
im  again 
irere  both 
nuzzle  of 
ving  the 
kd    poor 
;y  feet  or 
y  horse's 
and  rodo 
lis  breath 
o  victim, 
ng  across 
raising 
of  dirt, 
feet  in 
rou    hurt 

hie 

ieve  not. 
hing  new 
)h!  hid" 
nts  arose, 
ch  then 
!  sprang 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


53 


upon  its  feet— shook  off  the  dirt— and  here  we  were,  all 
upon  our  legs  again,  save  the  bull,  whose  fate  had  been 
more  sad  than  that  of  either. 

I  turned  my  eyes  in  the  direction  where  the  herd  had 
gone,  and  our  companions  in  pursuit,  and  nothing  could  be 
seen  of  them,  nor  indication,  except  the  cloud  of  dust 
which  they  left  behind  them.  At  a  little  distance  on  the 
right,  however,  1  beheld  my  huge  victim  endeavoring  to 
make  as  much  head-way  as  he  possibly  could,  from  this 
dangerous  ground,  upon  three  legs.  I  galloped  off  to  him, 
and  at  my  approach  he  wheeled  around — and  bristled  up 
for  battle ;  he  seemed  to  know  perfectly  well  that  he  could 
not  escape  from  me,  and  resolved  to  meet  his  enemy  and 
death  as  bravely  as  possible. 

I  found  that  my  shot  had  entered  him  a  little  too  far 
forward,  breaking  one  of  his  shoulders,  and  lodging  in  his 
breart,  and  from  his  very  great  weight  it  was  impossible 
for  hun  to  make  much  advance  upon  me.  As  I  rode  up 
within  a  few  paces  of  him,  he  would  bristle  up  with  fury 
enough  in  his  hoha  alone,  almost  to  annihilate  me,  and 
making  one  lunge  at  me,  would  fall  upon  his  neck  and 
nose,  so  that  I  found  the  sagacity  of  my  horse  alone  enough 
to  keep  me  out  of  reach  of  danger :  and  I  drew  from  my 
pocket  my  sketch-book,  laid  my  gun  across  my  lap,  and 
commenced  taking  his  likeness.  He  stood  stiffened  up, 
and  swelling  with  awful  vengeance,  which  was  sublime 
for  a  picture,  but  which  he  could  not  vent  upon  me.  I 
rode  around  him  and  sketched  him  in  numerous  attitudes, 
sometimes  he  would  lie  down,  and  I  would  then  sketch 
him;  then  throw  my  cap  at  him,  and  rousing  him  on  his 
legs,  rally  a  new  expression,  and  sketch  him  again. 

lu  this  way  I  added  to  my  sketch-book  some  invaluable 
sketches  of  this  grim-visaged  monster,  who  knew  not  that 
he  was  standing  for  his  likeness. 

No  man  on  earth  can  imagine  what  is  the  look  and  ex- 
pression of  such  a  subject  before  him  as  this  was.  I  defy 
the  world  to  produce  another  animal  that  can  look  so  fright- 


■1 


64 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


ftil  03  a  huge  buffalo  bull,  when  wounded  as  he  was,  turned 
around  for  battle,  and  swelling  with  rage;— his  eyes  blood- 
shot,  and  his  long  Bhag::y  mane  hanging  to  the  ground,— 
his  mouth  open,  and  his  horrid  rage  hissing  in  streams  of 


.<MM. 


BISON  WOUXDBO. 


smoke  and  blood  from  his  mouth  and  through  his  nostrils, 
03  he  is  bending  forward  to  spring  upon  his  assailant. 

After  I  had  had  the  requisite  time  and  opportunity  for 
using  my  pencil,  M'Kenzie  and  his  companions  came  walk- 
ing their  exhausted  horses  back  from  the  chase,  and  in  our 
-ear  came  four  or  five  carts  to  carry  home  the  meat.  The 
party  met  from  all  quarters  around  me  and  my  buffiilo  bull, 
whom  I  then  shot  in  the  head  and  finished.  And  being 
seated  together  for  a  few  minutes,  each  one  took  a  smoke 
of  the  pipe,  and  recited  his  exploits,  and  his  "coups"  or 
deaths ;  when  all  parties  had  a  hearty  laugh  at  me,  as  a 
novice,  for  having  aimed  at  an  old  bull,  whose  flesh  is  not 
suitable  for  food,  and  the  carts  were  escorted  on  the  trail,  to 


IS,  turned 
'03  blood- 
[round, — 
treams  of 


s  nostrils, 
lant. 

tunity  for 
ime  walk- 
lud  in  our 
cat.  The 
ffulo  bull, 
Lud  being 

a  smoke 
coups"  or 

me,  as  a 
esh  is  not 
le  trail,  to 


W 


NORTn  AMERICAN   INDIANS. 


66 


bring  away  the  meat.  I  rode  back  with  Mr.  M'Kenzie,  who 
pointed  out  five  cows  which  he  had  killed,  acd  all  of  them 
selected  as  the  fattest  and  sleekest  of  the  herd.  This  aston- 
ishing feat  was  all  performed  within  the  distance  of  one  mile 
— all  were  killed  at  full  speed,  and  every  one  shot  through 
the  heart.  In  the  short  space  of  time  required  for  a  horse 
under  "full  whip,"  to  run  the  distance  of  one  mile,  he  had 
discharged  his  gun  five,  and  loaded  it  four  times — selected 
his  animals,  and  killed  at  every  shot  I  There  were  six  or 
eight  others  killed  at  the  same  time,  which  altogether 
furnished,  as  will  be  seen,  abundance  of  freight  for  the 
carts;  which  returned,  as  well  as  several  packhoises,  loaded 
with  the  choicest  parts  which  were  cui  irom  the  animals, 
and  the  remainder  of  the  carcasses  left  a  prey  for  the 
wolves. 

Such  is  the  mode  by  which  white  men  live  in  this  country 
— such  the  way  in  which  they  get  their  food,  and  such  is 
one  of  their  delightftil  amusements — at  the  hazard  of  every 
bone  in  one's  body,  to  feel  the  fine  and  thrilling  exhili ration 
of  the  chase  for  a  moment,  and  then  as  often  to  upbraid  and 
blame  himself  for  his  folly  and  imprudence. 

From  this  scene  we  commenced  leisurely  wending  our 
way  back;  and  dismounting  at  the  place  we  had  stripped, 
each  man  dressed  himself  again,  or  slung  his  extra  articles 
of  dress,  &c.,  across  his  saddle,  astride  of  which  he  sat ;  and 
we  rode  back  to  the  Fort,  reciting  as  we  rode,  and  for 
twenty-four  hours  afterwards,  deeds  of  chivalry  and  chase 
and  hair's  breadth  escapes,  which  each  and  either  had 
fought  and  run  on  former  occasions.  M'Kenzie,  with  all 
the  true  character  and  dignity  of  a  leader,  was  silent  on 
these  subjects ;  but  smiled,  while  those  in  his  train  were 
reciting  for  him  the  astonishing  and  almost  incredible  deeds 
of  his  sinewy  arms,  which  they  had  witnessed  in  s;  .nilar 
scenes;  from  which  I  learned  (as  well  as  from  my  own 
observations,)  that  he  was  reputed  (and  actually  was)  the 
most  distinguished  of  all  the  white  men  who  have  flourished 
in  these  regions,  in  the  pursuit  of  the  buffhlo. 


>k*'. 


66 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES. 


Oa  our  return  to  tlie  Fort,  a  bottle  or  two  of  wine  were 
set  forth  upon  the  table,  and  around  it  a  half  dozen  parched 
throats  were  soon  moistened,  and  good  cheer  ensued. 
Ba'tiste,  D^fonde,  Chardon,  &o.,  retired  to  their  quarters, 
enlarging  smoothly  upon  the  events  of  our  morning's  work ; 
which  they  were  reciting  to  their  wives  and  sweet-hearts ; 
when  about  this  time  the  gate  of  the  Fort  was  thrown  open, 
and  the  procession  of  carts  and  packhorses  laden  with  buf- 
falo meat  made  its  entree;  gladdening  the  hearts  of  a  hun- 
dred women  and  children,  and  tickling  the  noses  of  as  many 
hungry  dogs  and  puppies,  who  were  stealing  in  and  smell- 
ing at  the  tail  of  the  procession.  The  door  of  the  ice-house 
was  thrown  open,  the  meat  was  discharged  into  it,  and  I 
being  fotigued,  went  asleep. 


rl     k 


ine  were 
I  parclicd 

ensued, 
quarters, 
^'s  work; 
3t-hearts ; 
iwn  open, 
with  buf- 
of  a  hun- 
•■  as  many- 
ad  smell- 
ice-house 

it,  and  I 


LETTER  No.  V. 
MOUTH  OF  YELLOW  STONE,   UPPER  MISSOURI. 

In  my  f  «rmer  epistle  I  told  you  there  were  encamped 
about  the  Tort  a  host  of  wild,  incongruous  spirits — chiefs 
aiul  sachems — warriors,  braves,  and  women  and  children 
of  different  tribes— of  Crows  and  Blackfeet — Ojibbeways — 
Assinneboins — and  Crees  or  Knisteneaux.  Amongst  and 
in  the  midst  of  them  am  I,  with  my  paint-pots  and  canvass, 
snugly  ensconced  in  one  of  the  bastions  of  the  Fort,  which 
I  occupy  as  a  painting-room.  My  easel  stands  before  me, 
and  the  cool  breech  of  a  twelve-pounder  makes  me  a 
comfortable  seat,  whilst  her  muzzle  is  looking  out  at  one  of 
the  portholes.  The  operations  of  my  brush  are  mysteries 
of  the  highest  order  to  these  red  sons  of  the  prairie,  and 

(57) 


53 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


my  room  the  earliest  and  latest  place  of  concentration  of 
these  wild  and  jealous  spirits,  who  all  meet  here  to  be 
amused  and  pay  me  signal  honors;  but  gaze  upon  each 
other,  sending  their  sidelong  looks  of  deep-rooted  hatred 
and  revenge  around  the  group.  However,  whilst  in  the 
Fort,  their  weapons  are  placed  within  the  arsenal,  and 
naught  but  looks  and  thoughts  can  be  breathed  here  ;  but 
death  and  grim  destruction  will  visit  back  those  looks 
upon  each  other,  when  these  wild  spirits  again  are  loose 
and  free  to  breathe  and  act  upon  the  plains. 

I  have  this  day  been  painting  a  portrait  of  the  head 
chief  of  the  Blaokfoot  nation.  He  is  a  good-looking  and 
dignified  Indian,  about  fifty  years  of  age,  and  superbly 
dressed.  Whilst  sitting  for  his  picture  he  has  been  sur- 
rounded by  his  own  braves  and  warriors,  and  also  gazed  at 
by  his  enemies,  the  Crows  and  the  Knisteneaux,  Assinne- 
boins  and  Ojibbeways:  a  number  of  distinguished  per- 
sonages of  each  of  which  tribes,  have  laid  all  day  around 
the  sides  of  my  room ;  reciting  to  each  other  the  battles 
they  have  fought,  and  pointing  to  the  scalp-locks,  worn  as 
proofs  of  their  victories,  and  attached  to  the  seams  of  their 
shirts  and  leggings.  This  is  a  curious  scene  to  witness, 
when  one  sits  in  the  midst  of  such  inflammable  and  com- 
bustible materials,  brought  together,  unarmed,  for  the 
first  time  in  their  lives ;  peaceably  and  calmly  recounting 
over  the  deeds  of  their  lives,  and  smoking  their  pipes  upon 
it,  when  a  few  weeks  or  days  will  bring  them  on  the  plains 
again,  where  the  war-cry  will  be  raised,  and  their  deadly 
bows  will  again  be  drawn  on  each  other. 

The  name  of  this  dignitary,  of  whom  I  have  just  spoken, 
is  Stu-mick-o-sucks  (the  buffalo's  back  fat),  i.  e.  the  "  hump" 
or  "  fleece,"  the  most  delicious  part  of  the  buffalo's  flesh. 

There  is  no  tribe,  perhaps,  on  the  Continent,  who  dress 
more  comfortably,  and  more  gaudily,  than  the  Blackfeet, 
unless  it  be  the  tribe  of  Crows.  There  is  no  great  difference, 
however,  in  the  costliness  or  elegance  of  their  costumes ; 
nor  in  the  materials  of  which  they  are  formed ;  though 


NORTH  AMEKICAN  INDIANS. 


59 


atration  of 
here  to  be 
upon  each 
)ted  hatred 
lilst  in  the 
rsenal,  and 
i  here ;  but 
hose  looks 
a  are  loose 

)f  the  head 
joking  and 
id  superbly 
I  been  sur- 
[so  gazed  at 
X,  Assinne- 
iiished  per- 
day  around 
the  battles 
iks,  worn  as 
,ms  of  their 
to  witness, 
le  and  com- 
id,  for  the 
recounting 
pipes  upon 
1  the  plains 
leir  deadly 

ust  spoken, 
le  "  hump" 
o's  flesh, 
who  dress 
Blackfeet, 
difference, 
costumes ; 
)d;  though 


there  is  a  distinctive  mode  in  each  tribe,  of  stitching  or 
ornamenting  with  the  porcupine  quills,  which  constitute 
one  of  the  principal  ornaments  to  all  their  fine  dresses ; 
and  which  can  be  easily  recognized,  by  any  one  a  little 
ferailiar  with  their  modes,  as  belonging  to  such  or  such  a 
tribe.  The  dress,  for  instance  of  the  chief  whom  I  have 
just  mentioned,  consists  of  a  shirt  or  tiinic,  made  of  two 
deer  skins  finely  dressed,  and  so  placed  together  with  the 
necks  of  the  skins  downwards,  and  the  skins  of  the  hind 
legs  stitched  together,  the  seams  running  down  on  each 
arm,  from  the  neck  to  the  knuckles  of  the  hand;  this 
seam  is  covered  with  a  band  of  two  inches  in  width,  of 
very  beautiftil  embroidery  of  porcupine  quills,  and  sus- 
pended from  the  under  edge  of  this,  from  the  shoulders 
to  the  hands,  is  a  fringe  of  the  locks  of  black  hair,  which 
L  \\ar.  taken  from  the  heads  of  victims  slain  by  his  own 
he  "u  battle.  The  leggings  are  made  also  of  the  same 
r  ..T-iil;  and  down  the  outer  side  of  the  leg,  from  the 
hip  to  the  feet,  extends  also  a  similar  band  or  belt  of 
the  same  width ;  and  wrought  in  the  same  manner,  with 
porcupine  quills,  and  fringed  with  scalp- locks.  These  locks 
of  hair  are  procured  from  scalps,  and  worn  as  trophies. 

The  wife  (or  squaw)  of  this  dignitary  Eeh-nis-kin  (the 
crystal  stone),  I  have  also  placed  upon  my  canvass ;  her 
countenance  is  rather  pleasing,  which  is  an  uncommon 
thing  amongst  the  Blackfeet — her  dress  is  made  of  skins, 
and  being  the  youngest  of  a  bevy  of  six  or  eight,  and  the 
last  one  taken  under  his  guardianship,  was  smiled  upon 
with  great  satisfaction,  whilst  he  exempted  her  from  the 
drudgeries  of  the  camp ;  and  keeping  her  continually  in  the 
halo  of  his  own  person,  watched  and  guarded  her  as  the 
apple  of  his  eye.  The  grandson  also  of  this  sachem,  a  boy 
of  six  years  of  age,  and  too  young  as  yet  to  have  acquired 
a  name,  has  stood  forth  like  a  tried  warrior ;  and  I  have 
painted  him  at  full  length  with  his  bow  and  quiver  slung, 
and  his  robe  made  of  a  racoon  skin.  The  history  of  this 
child  is  somewhat  curious  and  interesting ;  his  father  ij 


Jl 


60 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


dead,  and  in  case  of  the  death  of  the  chief,  of  whom  I  have 
spoken,  he  becomes  hereditary  chief  of  the  tribe.  This 
boy  has  been  twice  stolen  away  by  the  Crows  by  ingenious 
stratagems,  and  twice  re-captured  by  the  Blackfeet,  at  con- 
siderable sacrifice  of  life,  and  at  present  he  is  lodged  with 
Mr.  M'Kenzie,  for  safe  keeping  and  protection,  until  he 
shall  arrive  at  the  proper  age  to  take  the  ofl&ce  to  which 
he  is  to  succeed,  and  able  to  protect  himself. 


SCAU'INO. 


The  scalp  of  which  I  spoke  above,  is  procured  by  cutting 
out  a  piece  of  the  skin  of  tlie  head,  the  size  of  the  palm  of 
the  hand  or  less,  containing  the  very  centre  or  crown  of  the 
head,  the  place  where  the  hair  radiates  from  a  point,  and 
exactly  over  what  the  phrenologists  call  self-esteem.  This 
patch  then  is  kept  and  dried  with  great  care,  as  proof  posi- 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


61 


lom  I  have 
ribe.  This 
J  ingenious 
feet,  at  con* 
odged  with 
1,  until  he 
e  to  which 


by  cutting 
he  palm  of 
rown  of  tlio 
point,  and 
Jem.  This 
proof  posi- 


tive of  the  death  of  an  enemy,  and  evidence  of  a  man's 
claims  as  a  warrior;  and  after  having  been  formally 
"danced"  as  the  saying  is,  (i.  c.  after  it  has  been  stuck  up 
upon  a  pole  or  held  up  by  an  "old  woman,"  and  the 
warriors  have  danced  around  it  for  two  or  three  weeks  at 
intervals,)  it  is  fastened  to  the  handle  of  a  lance,  or  the  end 
of  a  war-club,  or  divided  into  a  great  many  small  locks  and 
used  to  fringe  and  ornament  the  victor's  dress.  When  these 
dresses  are  seen  bearing  such  trophies,  it  is  of  course  a 
difficult  matter  to  purchase  them  of  the  Indian,  for  they 
often  hold  them  above  all  price.  I  shall  hereafter  take 
occasion  to  speak  of  the  scalp-dance;  describing  it  in  all  its 
parts,  and  giving  a  long  Letter,  at  the  same  time  on  scalps 
and  scalping,  an  interesting  and  general  custom  amongst  all 
the  North  American  Indians. 

In  the  chief's  dress,  which  I  am  describing,  there  are  his 
moccasins,  made  also  of  buckskin,  and  ornamented  in  a 
corresponding  m^ner.  And  over  all,  his  robe,  made  of 
the  skin  of  a  young  buffalo  bull,  with  the  hair  remaining 
on;  and  on  the  inner  or  flesh  side,  beautifully  garnished 
with  porcupine  quills,  and  the  battles  of  his  life  very  in- 
geniously, though  rudely,  portrayed  in  pictorial  represen- 
tations. In  his  hand  he  holds  a  very  beautiful  pipe,  the 
stem  of  which  is  four  or  five  feet  long,  and  two  inches  wide, 
curiously  wound  with  braids  of  porcupine  quills  of  various 
colors;  and  the  bowl  of  the  pipe  ingeniously  carved  by 
himself  from  a  piece  of  red  steatite  of  an  interesting  charac- 
ter, and  which  they  all  tell  me  is  procured  somewhere 
between  this  place  and  the  Falls  of  St.  Anthony,  on  the 
head  waters  of  the  Mississippi. 

This  curious  stone  has  many  peculiar  qualities',  and  has, 
undoubtedly,  but  one  origin  in  this  country,  and  perhaps 
in  the  world.  It  is  found  but  in  the  hands  of  the  savage, 
and  every  tribe  and  nearly  every  individual  in  the  tribe  has 
his  pipe  made  of  it.  I  consider  this  stone  a  subject  of  great 
interest,  and  curiosity  to  the  world;  and  I  shall  most  as- 
suredly make  it  a  point,  during  my  Indian  rambles,  to  visit 


62 


LETTBRS  AND  NOTES  ON  THK 


12      f 


!         1  .if 


the  place  from  whence  it  is  brought  I  have  already  got  a 
number  of  most  remarkable  traditions  and  stories  relating 
to  the  "sacred  quarry;"  of  pilgrimages  performed  there  to 
procure  the  stone,  and  of  curious  transactions  that  have 
taken  place  on  that  ground.  It  seems,  from  all  I  can  learn, 
that  all  the  tribes  in  these  regions,  and  also  of  the  Missis- 
sippi and  the  Lakes,  have  been  in  the  habit  of  going  to  that 
place,  and  meeting  their  enemies  there,  whom  they  are 
obliged  to  treat  as  friends,  under  an  injunction  of  the  Great 
Spirit. 

So  then  is  this  sachem  (the  buffalo's  back  fat)  dressed;  and 
in  a  very  similar  manner,  and  almost  the  same,  is  each  of 
the  others  above  named;  and  all  are  armed  with  bow  and 
quiver,  lance  and  shield.  These  north-western  tribes  are 
all  armed  with  the  bow  and  lance,  and  protected  with  the 
shield  or  arrow-fender,  which  is  carried  outside  of  the  left 
arm,  exactly  as  the  Roman  and  Grecian  shield  was  carried, 
and  for  the  same  purpose. 

There  is  an  appearance  purely  classic  in  the  plight  and 
equipment  of  these  warriors  and  "knights  of  the  lance." 
They  are  almost  literally  always  on  their  horses'  backs,  and 
they  weild  their  weapons  with  desperate  effect  upon  the 
open  plains;  where  they  kill  their  game  while  at  full  speed, 
and  contend  in  like  manner  in  battles  with  their  enemies. 
There  is  one  prevailing  custom  in  these  respects,  amongst 
all  the  tribes  who  inhabit  the  great  plains  or  prairies  of 
these  western  regions.  These  plains  afford  them  an  abun- 
dance of  wild  and  fleet  horses,  which  are  easily  procured ; 
and  on  their  backs  at  full  speed,  they  can  come  alongside  of 
any  animal,  which  they  easily  destroy. 

The  bow  with  which  they  are  armed  is  small,  and  appar- 
ently an  insignificant  weapon,  though  one  of  great  and 
almost  incredible  power  in  the  hands  of  its  owner,  whose 
sinews  have  been  from  childhood  habituated  to  its  use  and 
service.  The  length  of  these  bows  is  generally  about  three 
feet,  and  sometimes  not  more  than  two  and  a  half.  They 
have,  no  doubt,  studied  to  get  the  requisite  power  in  the 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


68 


smallest  compass  possible,  as  it  is  more  easily  and  handily 
used  on  horseback  than  one  of  greater  length.  The  greater 
number  of  these  bows  are  made  of  ash,  or  of  "bois  d'arc" 
(as  the  French  call  it,)  and  lined  on  the  back  with  layers  of 
buflfalo  or  deer's  sinews,  which  are  inseparably  attached  to 
them,  and  give  them  great  elasticity.  There  are  very  many 
also  (amongst  the  piacV-*"'  and  Crows)  which  are  made  of 
bone,  and  others  o  6  no.  of  the  mountain-she  < ..  .'hose 
made  of  bone  are  decideaiy  the  most  valuable,  and  can- 
not in  this  country  be  procured  of  a  good  quality  short  of 
the  price  of  one  or  two  horses.  About  these  there  is  a 
mystery  yet  to  be  solved,  and  I  advance  my  opinion  against 
all  theories  that  I  have  heard  in  the  country  where  they  are 
used  and  made.  I  have  procured  several  very  fine  speci- 
mens, and  when  purchasing  them  have  inquired  of  the 
Indians,  what  bone  they  were  made  of?  and  ia  every  in- 
stance, the  answer  was,  "that's  medicine,"  meaning  that  it 
was  a  mystery  to  them,  or  that  they  did  not  wish  to  be 
questioned  about  them.  The  bone  of  which  they  are  made 
is  certainly  not  the  bone  of  any  animal  now  grazing  on  the 
prairies,  or  in  the  mountains  between  this  place  and  the 
Pacific  Ocean ;  for  some  of  these  bows  are  three  feet  in  length 
of  a  solid  piece  of  bone,  and  that  as  close-grained — as  hard 
— as  white,  and  as  highly  polished  as  any  ivory ;  it  cannot, 
therefore  be  made  from  the  elks'  horn  (as  some  have  sup- 
posed), which  is  of  a  dark  color  and  porous :  nor  can  it 
come  from  the  buffalo.  It  is  my  opinion,  therefore,  that  the 
Indians  on  the  Pacific  coast  procure  the  bone  from  the  jaw 
of  the  sperm  whale,  which  is  often  stranded  on  that  coast, 
and  bringing  the  bone  into  the  mountains,  trade  it  to  the 
Blackfeet  and  Crows,  who  manufacture  it  into  these  bows 
without  knowing  any  more  than  we  do,  from  what  source 
it  has  been  procured. 

One  of  these  little  bows  in  the  hands  of  an  Indian,  on  u 
fleet  and  well  trained  horse,  with  a  quiver  of  arrows  slung 
on  his  back,  is  a  most  effective  and  powerful  weapon  in 
the  open  plains.    No  one  can  easily  credit  the  force  with 


64 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


which  these  missiles  are  thrown,  and  the  sanguinary  effects 
produced  by  their  wounds,  until  he  has  rode  by  the  side  of 
a  party  of  Indians  in  chase  of  a  herd  of  buffaloes,  and  wit- 
nessed the  apparent  ease  and  grace  with  which  their  supple 
arms  have  drawn  the  bow,  and  seen  these  huge  animals 
tumbling  down  and  gushing  out  their  hearts'  blood  from 
their  mouths  and  nostrils. 

Their  bows  are  often  made  of  bone  and  sinews,  and  their 
arrows  headed  with  flints  or  with  bones,  of  their  own  con- 
struction, or  with  steel  as  they  are  now  chiefly  furnished 
by  the  Fur  Traders  quite  to  the  Eocky  Mountains.  The 
quiver,  which  is  uniformly  carried  on  the  back,  and  made 
of  the  panther  or  otter  skins,  is  a  magazine  of  these  deadly 
weapons,  and  generally  contains  two  varieties.  The  one 
to  be  drawn  upon  an  enemy,  generally  poisoned,  and  with 
long  flukes  or  barbs,  which  are  designed  to  hang  the  blade 
in  the  wound  after  the  shaft  is  withdrawn,  in  which  they 
are  but  slightly  glued; — the  other  to  be  used  for  their 
game,  with  the  blade  firmly  fastened  to  the  shaft,  and  the 
flukes  inverted;  that  it  may  easily  be  drawn  from  the 
wound,  and  used  on  a  future  occasion. 

Such  is  the  training  of  men  and  horses  in  this  country, 
that  this  work  of  death  and  slaughter  is  simple  and  easy. 
The  horse  is  trained  to  approach  the  animals  on  the  right 
side  enabling  its  rider  to  throw  his  arrows  to  the  left ;  it 
runs  and  approaches  without  the  use  of  the  halter,  which  is 
hanging  loose  upon  its  neck  bringing  the  rider  within 
three  or  four  paces  of  the  animal,  when  the  arrow  is 
thrown  with  great  ease  and  certainty  to  the  heart;  and 
instances  sometimes  occur,  where  the  arrow  passes  entirely 
through  the  animal's  body. 

An  Indian,  therefore,  mounted  on  a  fleet  and  well-trained 
horse,  with  his  bow  in  his  hand,  and.  his  quiver  slung  on 
his  back,  containing  an  hundred  arrows,  of  which  he  can 
throw  fifteen  or  twenty  in  a  minute,  is  a  formidable  and 
dangerous  enemy.  Many  of  them  also  ride  with  a  lance  of 
twelve  or  fourteen  feet  in  length,  with  a  blade  of  polished 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


6u 


steel ;  and  all  of  them  (as  a  protection  for  their  vital  parts,) 
with  a  shield  or  arrow-fender  made  of  the  skin  of  the 
buffalo's  neck,  which  has  been  smoked,  and  hardened  with 
glue  extracted  from  the  hoofs.  These  shields  a^e  arrow- 
proof,  and  will  glance  off  a  rifle  shot  with  perfect  effect  by 
being  turned  obliquely,  which  they  do  with  great  skill. 

This  shield  or  arrow-fender  is,  in  my  opinion,  made  of 
similar  materials,  and  used  in  the  same  way,  and  for  the 
same  purpose,  as  was  the  clypeus  or  small  shield  in  the 
Roman  and  Grecian  cavalry.  They  were  made  in  those 
days  as  a  means  of  defence  on  horseback  only — made  small 
and  light,  of  bull's  hides;  sometimes  single,  sometimes 
double  and  tripled.  Such  was  Hector's  shield,  and  of 
most  of  the  Homerio  heroes  of  the  Greek  and  Trojan 
wars.  In  those  days  also  were  darts  or  javelins  and 
lances ;  the  same  were  also  used  by  the  Ancient  Britons ; 
and  such  exactly  are  now  in  use  amongst  the  Arabs  and 
the  North  American  Indians. 

In  this  wise  then,  are  all  of  these  wild  red  knights  of  the 
prairie,  armed  and  equipped, — and  while  nothing  can 
possibly  be  more  picturesque  and  thrilling  than  a  troop  or 
war-party  of  these  fellows,  galloping  over  these  green  and 
endless  prairies,  there  can  be  no  set  of  mounted  men  of 
equal  numbers,  so  effective  and  so  invincible  in  this 
country  as  they  would  be,  could  they  be  inspired  with 
confidence  of  their  own  powers  and  their  own  superiority ; 
yet  this  never  can  be  done ; — for  the  Indian,  as  far  as  the 
name  of  white  man  has  travelled,  and  long  before  he  has  to 
try  his  strength  with  him,  is  trembling  with  fright  and 
fear  of  his  approach;  he  hears  of  white  man's  arts  and 
artifice — his  trioks  and  cunning,  and  his  hundred  instru- 
ments of  death  and  destruction — he  dreads  his  approach, 
shrinks  from  him  with  fear  and  trembling — his  heart 
sickens,  and  his  pride  and  courage  wither,  at  the  thoughts 
of  contending  with  an  enemy,  whom  he  thinks  may  war 
and  destroy  with  weapons  of  medicine  or  mystery. 

Of  the  Blackfeet,  whom  I  mentioned  in  the  beginning  of 


66 


LBTTKRS  AND  NOTES  ON  THB 


ri-TOH-FKE-KISS. 


this  Letter,  and  whose  portraits  are  now  standing  in  my 
room,  there  is  another  of  whom  I  must  say  a  few  words ; 
Pe-toh-pee-kiss,  (the  eagle  ribs).  This  man  is  one  of  the 
extraordinary  men  of  the  Blackfoot  tribe;  though  not  a 
chief,  ho  stands  here  in  the  Fort,  and  deliberately  boasts  of 
eight  scalps,  which  he  says  he  has  taken  from  the  heads  of 
trappers  and  traders  with  his  own  hand.  His  dress  is 
really  Buperb,  almost  literally  covered  with  scalp-locks,  of 
vage  and  civil. 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


67 


I  have  painted  him  at  full  length,  with  a  head-dress 
made  entirely  of  ermine  skins  and  horns  of  the  bufifalo. 
This  custom  of  wearing  horns  beautifully  polished  and 
surmounting  the  head-dress,  is  a  very  curious  one,  being 
worn  only  by  the  bravest  of  the  brave ;  by  the  most  extra- 
ordinary men  in  the  nation.  When  he  stood  for  his 
picture,  he  also  held  a  lance  and  two  •'  medicine-bags"  in 
his  hand ;  of  lances  I  have  spoken, — but  "  medicine-bags" 
and  "  medicine"  will  be  the  text  for  my  next  Letter. 

Besides  the  chiefs  and  warriors  above-named,  I  have  also 
transferred  to  my  canvass  the  "looks  and  very  resem- 
blance" of  an  aged  chief,  who  combines  with  his  high 
office,  the  envied  title  of  mystery  or  medicine-man,  i.  e. 
doctor — magician — prophet — soothsayer  — jongleur — and 
high  priest,  all  combined  in  one  person,  who  necessarily  is 
looked  upon  as  •*  Sir  Oracle"  of  i,he  nation.  The  name  of 
this  distinguished  functionary  is  Wun-nes-tou,  (the  white 
buffalo ;)  and  on  his  left  arm  he  presents  his  mystery-drum 
or  tambour,  in  which  are  concealed  th»  hidden  and  sacred 
mysteries  of  his  healing  art. 

And  there  is  also  In-neocose,  (the  iron  horn,)  at  full 
length,  in  a  splendid  dress,  with  his  "  medicine-bag"  in  his 
hand;  and  Ah-kay-ee-pix-en,  (the  woman  who  strikes 
many,)  in  a  beautiful  dress  of  the  mountain-goats'  skin,  and 
her  robe  of  the  young  buffalo's  hide. 


TVR    TRADERS. 

LETTER  No.   VI. 
MOUTH  OF  YKLLOW  STONE,  UPPER  lUISSOURI. 

Now  for  medicines  or  mysteries — for  doctors,  high- 
priests,  for  hocus  pocus,  witchcraft,  and  animal  magnetism  ! 

In  the  last  Letter  I  spoke  of  I'e-toh-pee-kiss  (the  eagle 
ribs),  a  Blackfoot  brave,  whose  portrait  I  had  just  painted 
(68) 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


60 


ligh- 

Ism! 

jagle 

ited 


at  ftiU  length,  in  a  splendid  dress.  I  mentioned  also,  that 
ho  hold  two  medicine-bags  in  his  hand  ;  as  they  are  repre- 
sented in  the  picture  ;  both  of  them  made  of  the  skins  ot 
otters,  and  curiously  ornamented  with  ermine,  and  other 
strange  things. 

I  must  needs  stop  here — my  painting  and  every  thing 
else — until  I  can  explain  the  word  "  medicine"  and  ^^medicine- 
hag  /"  and  also  some  medicine  operations,  which  I  have  seen 
transacted  at  this  place  within  a  few  days  past.  "  Medi- 
cine" is  a  great  word  in  this  country ;  and  i!.  is  very 
necessary  that  one  should  know  the  meaning  of  it,  whilst  ho 
is  scanning  and  estimating  the  Indian  character,  which  is 
made  up,  in  a  great  degree,  of  mysteries  and  superstitions. 

The  word  medicine,  in  its  common  acceptation  here, 
means  mystery,  and  nothing  else :  and  in  that  sense  I  shall 
use  it  very  frequently  in  my  Notes  on  Indian  Manners  and 
Customs. 

The  Fur  Traders  in  this  country,  are  nearly  all  French ; 
and  in  their  language,  a  doctor  or  physician,  is  called 
"  Medicin.^'  The  Indian  country  is  full  of  doctors ;  and  as 
they  are  all  magicians,  and  skilled,  or  profess  to  be  skilled, 
in  many  mysteries,  the  word  "  medecin"  has  become  habi- 
tually applied  to  every  thing  mystorioas  or  unaccountable ; 
and  the  English  and  Americans,  who  are  also  trading  and 
passing  through  this  country,  have  easily  and  familiarly 
adopted  the  same  word,  with  a  slight  alteration,  conveying 
the  same  meaning;  and  to  be  a  little  more  explicit,  they 
have  denominated  these  personages  "medicine-r:;..'n,*  which 
means  something  more  than  merely  a  doctor  or  physician. 
These  physicians,  however,  are  all  medicine-men,  aa  they 
are  all  supposed  to  deal  more  or  less  in  mysteries  and 
charms,  which  are  aids  and  handmaids  in  their  practice. 
Yet  it  was  necessary  to  give  the  word  or  phrase  a  still 
more  comprehensive  mcaninp* — as  there  were  many  per- 
sonages amongst  them,  and  also  amongst  the  white  men 
who  visit  the  country,  who  could  deal  in  mysteries,  though 
not  skilled  in  the  application  of  drugs  and  medicines ; 


70 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


4i'.'.i 


and  they  all  range  now,  under  the  comprehensive  and 
accommodating  phrase  of  "  medicine-men,"  For  instance, 
I  am  a  '*  medicine-man"  of  the  highest  order  amongst  these 
superstitious  people,  on  account  of  the  art  which  I  practice  ; 
which  is  a  strange  and  unaccountable  thing  to  them,  and 
of  course,  called  the  greatest  of  "  medicine."  My  gun  and 
pistols,  which  have  percussion-locks,  are  great  medicine; 
and  no  Indian  can  be  prevailed  on  to  fire  them  off,  for 
they  say  they  have  nothing  to  do  with  white  man's 
medicine. 

The  Indians  do  not  use  the  word  medicine,  however ; 
but  in  each  tribe  they  have  a  word  of  their  own  con- 
struction, synonymous  with  mystery  or  mystery-man. 

The  "  medicine-bag"  then,  is  a  mystery-bag ;  and  its 
meaning  and  importance  necessary  to  be  understood,  as  it 
may  be  said  to  be  the  key  to  Indian  life  and  Indian 
character.  These  bags  are  constructed  of  the  skins  of 
animals,  of  birds,  or  of  reptiles,  and  ornamented  and  pre- 
served in  a  thousand  different  ways,  as  suits  the  taste  or 
freak  of  the  person  who  constructs  them.  These  skins  are 
generally  attached  to  some  part  of  the  clothing  of  the 
Indian,  or  carried  in  his  hand — they  are  oftentimes  deco- 
rated in  such  a  manner  as  to  be  exceedingly  ornamental  to 
his  person,  and  always  are  stviffed  with  grass,  or  moss,  or 
something  of  the  kind ;  and  generally  without  drugs  or 
medicines  within  them,  as  they  are  religiously  closed  and 
scaled,  and  seldom,  if  ever,  to  be  opened.  I  fined  that 
every  Indian  in  his  primitive  state,  carries  his  medicine- 
bag  in  some  form  or  other,  to  which  he  pays  the  greatest 
homage,  and  to  which  he  looks  for  safety  and  protection 
through  life — and  in  fact,  it  might  almost  be  called  a 
species  of  idolatry ;  for  it  would  seem  in  some  instances, 
as  if  he  actually  worshipped  it.  Feasts  are  often  made, 
an(|^  dogs  and  horses  sacrificed,  to  a  man's  medicine ;  and 
days,  and  even  weeks,  of  fasting  and  penance  of  various 
kinds  are  often  suffered,  to  appease  his  medicine,  which  he 
imagines  he  has  in  some  way  offended. 


jirious 
Ich  be 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


71 


This  curious  custom  has  principally  been  done  away  with 
along  the  frontier,  where  white  men  laugh  at  the  Indian 
for  the  observance  of  so  ridiculous  and  useless  a  form  :  but 
in  this  country  it  is  in  full  force,  and  every  male  in  the 
tribe  carries  this,  his  supernatural  charm  or  guardian,  to 
■<  lich  he  looks  for  the  preservation  of  his  life,  in  battle  or 
in  other  danger;  at  which  times  it  would  be  considered 
ominous  of  bad  luck  and  an  ill  fate  to  be  without  it. 

The  manner  in  which  this  curious  and  important  article 
is  instituted  is  this :  a  boy,  at  the  age  of  fourteen  or  fifteen 
years,  is  said  to  be  making  or  "  forming  his  medicine," 
when  he  wanders  away  from  his  father's  lodge,  and  absents 
himself  for  the  space  of  two  or  three,  and  sometimes  even 
four  or  five  days ;  lying  on  the  ground  in  some  remote  or 
secluded  spot,  crying  to  the  Great  Spirit,  and  fasting  the 
whole  time.  During  this  period  of  peril  and  abstinence, 
when  he  falls  asleep,  the  first  animal,  bird,  or  reptile,  of 
which  he  dreams  (or  pretends  to  have  dreamed,  perhaps), 
he  considers  the  Great  Spirit  has  designated  for  his 
mysterious  protector  through  life.  He  then  returns  home 
to  his  father's  lodge,  and  relates  his  success;  and  after 
allaying  his  thirst,  and  satiating  his  appetite,  he  sallies 
forth  with  weapons  or  traps,  until  he  can  procure  the 
animal  or  bird,  the  skin  of  which  he  preserves  entire,  and 
ornaments  it  according  to  his  own  foncy,  and  carries  it 
with  him  through  life,  for  "  good  luck"  (as  he  calls  it) ;  as 
his  strength  in  battle — and  in  death  his  guardian  Spirit, 
that  is  buried  with  him,  and  which  is  to  conduct  him  safe 
to  the  beautiful  hunting  grounds,  which  he  contemplates 
in  the  world  to  come. 

The  value  of  the  medicine-bag  to  the  Indian  is  beyond 
all  price ;  for  to  sell  it,  or  give  it  away,  would  subject  him 
to  such  signal  disgrace  in  his  tribe,  that  he  could  never 
rise  above  it ;  and  again,  his  superstition  would  stand  in 
the  way  of  any  such  dispositiou  of  it,  for  he  considers  it  the 
gift  of  the  Great  Spirit.  An  Indian  carries  his  medicine-hag 
into  battle,  and   trusts  to  it  for  his  protection ;  and  if  he 


K 


TO 


LETTKRS    XSli  MOTES  ON  TUE 


P 

11 


loses  it  thus,  when  fighting  ever  ao  bravely  for  his  country, 
he  suffers  a  disgrace  scarcely  less  than  that  which  occurs  in 
case  he  sells  or  gives  it  away  ;  his  enemy  carries  it  off  and 
displays  it  to  his  own  people  as  a  trophy ;  whilst  the  loser 
is  cut  short  of  the  respect  that  is  due  to  other  young  men 
of  his  tribe,  and  for  ever  subjected  to  the  degrading  epithet 
of  "a man  without  medicine,"  or  "he  who  has  lost  his 
medicine,"  until  he  can  replace  it  again ;  which  can  only 
be  done,  by  rushing  into  battle  and  plundering  one  from 
an  enemy  whom  he  slays  with  his  own  hand.  This  done 
his  medicine  is  restored,  and  he  is  reinstated  again  in  the 
estimation  of  his  tribe ;  and  even  higher  than  before,  for 
such  is  called  the  best  of  medicine,  or  "  medicine  honorabhr 

It  is  a  singular  fact,  that  a  man  can  institute  his  mystery 
or  medicine,  but  once  in  his  life  ;  and  equally  singular  that 
he  can  reinstate  himself  by  the  adoption  of  the  mcdicino 
of  his  eneniy ;  both  of  which  reguiotions  are  strong  and 
violent  inducements  for  him  to  fight  bravely  in  battle :  the 
first,  that  he  may  protect  and  preserve  his  medicine ;  and 
the  second,  in  case  he  has  been  so  unlucky  as  to  lose  it, 
tha*^  he  may  restore  it,  and  his  reputation  also,  while  he  is 
desperately  contending  for  the  protection  of  his  community. 

During  my  travels  thus  far,  I  have  been  unable  to  buy 
a  mcdicinc-bag  of  an  Indian,  although  I  have  oft'ered  them 
extravagant  prices  for  them ;  and  even  on  the  frontier, 
where  they  have  been  induced  to  abandon  the  practice, 
though  a  white  man  may  induce  an  Indian  to  relinquish 
his  medicine,  yet  he  cannot  buy  it  of  him — the  Indian  in 
such  caso  will  bury  it,  to  please  a  white  man,  and  save 
it  from  his  sacrilegious  touch ;  and  he  will  linger  around 
the  spot  and  a'  regular  times  visit  it  and  pay  it  his  devo- 
tions, as  long  as  he  lives. 

These  curious  appendages  to  the  persons  or  wardrobe  of 
an  Indian  are  sometimes  made  of  the  skin  of  an  otter,  a 
beaver,  a  musk-rat,  a  weazcl,  a  raccoon,  a  polecat,  a  snake, 
a  frog,  a  toad,  a  bat,  a  mouse,  a  mole,  a  hawk,  an  eagle,  a 
magpie,  or  a  sparrow : — sometimes  of  the  skin  of  an  animal 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


t8 


BO  large  as  a  wolf;  and  at  others,  of  the  skins  of  the  lesser 
animals,  so  small  that  they  are  hidden  under  the  dress,  and 
very  difficult  to  be  found,  even  if  searched  for. 

Such  then  is  the  medicine-bag — such  its  meaning  and 
importance ;  and  when  its  owner  dies,  it  is  placed  in  his 
grave  and  decays  with  his  body. 

This  is  but  the  beginning  or  incipient  stage  of  "  medi- 
cines," however,  in  this  strange  and  superstitious  country ; 
and  if  you  have  patience,  I  will  carry  you  a  few  de- 
grees further  into  the  mysteries  of  conjuration,  before  I 
close  this  Letter.  Sit  still  then  and  read,  until  I  relate  a 
scene  of  a  tragic,  and  yet  of  the  most  grotesque  character, 
which  took  place  in  this  Fort  a  few  days  since,  and  to  all 
of  which  I  was  an  eye-witness.  The  scene  I  will  relate  as  it 
transpired  precisely ;  and  call  it  the  story  of  the  "  doctor," 
or  the  "  Blackfoot  medicine-man." 

Not  many  weeks  since,  a  party  of  Knisteneaux  came  . 
here  from  the  north,  for  the  purpose  of  making  their 
summer's  trade  with  the  Fur  Company :  and,  whilst  here 
a  party  of  Blackfeet,  their  natural  enemies  (the  same  who 
are  here  now),  came  from  the  west,  also  to  trade.  These 
two  belligerent  tribes  encamped  on  different  sides  of  the 
Fort,  and  had  spent  some  weeks  here  in  the  Fort  and  about 
it,  in  apparently  good  feeling  and  fellowship,  unable  in  fact 
to  act  otherwise,  for,  according  to  a  regulation  of  the  Fort, 
their  arms  and  weapons  were  all  locked  up  by  M'Kenzie  in 
his  "  arsenal,"  for  the  purpose  of  preserving  the  peace 
amongst  these  fighting-cocks. 

The  Knisteneaux  had  completed  their  trade,  and  loitered 
about  the  premises,  until  all,  both  Indians  and  white  men, 
were  getting  tired  of  their  company,  wishing  them  quietly 
oflF.  When  they  were  ready  to  start,  with  their  goods 
packed  upon  their  backs,  their  arms  were  given  them,  and 
they  started ;  bidding  everybody,  both  friends  and  foes,  a 
hearty  farewell.  They  went  out  of  the  Fort,  and  though 
the  party  gradually  moved  off,  one  of  them  undiscovered, 
loitered  about  the  Fort,  until  he  got  an  opportunity  to 


74 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


poke  the  muzzle  of  his  gun  through  between  the  piquets ; 
when  he  fired  it  at  one  of  the  chiefs  of  the  Blackfeet,  who 
stood  within  a  few  paces,  talking  with  Mr.  M'Kenzie,  and 
shot  him  with  two  musket  buUetj  through  the  centre  of 
his  body  1  The  Blackfoot  fell,  and  rolled  about  upon  the 
ground  in  the  agonies  of  death.  The  Blackfeet  who  were 
in  the  Fort  seized  their  weapons  and  ran  in  a  mass  out  of 
the  Fort,  in  pursuit  of  the  Knisteneaux,  who  were  rapidly 
retreating  to  the  bluffs.  The  Frenchmen  in  the  Fort,  also, 
at  so  flagrant  and  cowardly  an  insult,  seized  their  guns 
and  ran  out,  joining  the  Blackfeet  in  the  pursuit.  I,  at 
that  moment,  ran  to  my  painting-room  in  one  of  the 
bastions  overlooking  the  plain,  where  I  had  a  fair  view  of 
the  affair ;  many  shots  were  exchanged  back  and  forward, 
and  a  skirmish  ensued  which  lasted  half  an  hour;  the 
parties,  however,  were  so  far  apart  that  little  effect  was 
produced  ;  the  Knisteneaux  were  driven  off"  over  the  bluffs, 
haviiig  lost  one  man  and  had  several  others  wounded. 
The  Blackfeet  and  Frenchmen  returned  into  the  Fort,  and 
then,  I  saw  what  I  never  before  saw  in  my  life — I  saw  a 
"  medicine-'ma7i"  performing  his  mysteries  over  a  dying 
man.  The  man  who  had  been  shot  was  still  living,  though 
two  bullets  had  passed  through  the  centre  of  his  body, 
about  two  inches  apart  from  each  other ;  ho  was  lying  on 
the  ground  in  the  agonies  of  death,  and  no  one  could 
indulge  the  slightest  hope  of  his  recovery  ;  yet  the  medicine- 
man must  needs  bo  called  (for  such  a  personage  they  had 
in  their  party),  and  hocus  pocus  applied  to  the  dying  man, 
as  the  dernier  resort,  when  all  drugs  and  all  specifics  were 
useless,  and  after  all  possibility  of  recovery  was  extinct  I 

I  have  mentioned  that  all  tribes  have  their  physicians 
who  are  also  medicine  (or  mystery)  men.  These  profes- 
sional gentlemen  arc  worthies  of  the  highest  order  in  all  the 
tribes.  They  are  regularly  called  and  paid  as  physicians, 
to  prescribe  for  the  sick ;  and  many  of  them  acquire  great 
skill  in  the  medicinal  world,  and  gain  much  celebrity  in 
their  nation.     Their  first  prescriptions  are  roots  and  herbs, 


I 


ri. 


NOKTH  AMERICAN'  INDIANS. 


76 


of  which  they  have  a  great  variety  of  species ;  and  when 
these  have  all  failed,  their  last  resort  is  to  *^ medicine^'  or 
mystery;  and  for  this  purpose,  each  one  of  them  has  a 
strange  and  unaccountable  dress,  conjured  up  and  con- 
structed during  a  life-time  of  practice,  in  the  wildest  fancy 
imaginable,  in  which  he  arrays  himself,  and  makes  his  last 
visit  to  his  dying  patient, — dancing  over  him,  shaking  his 
frightful  rattles,  and  singing  songs  of  incantation,  in  hopes 
to  cure  him  by  a  charm.  There  are  some  instances,  of 
course,  where  the  exhausted  patient  unaccountably  recovers, 
under  the  application  of  these  absurd  forms ;  and  in  such 
cases  this  ingenious  son  of  Esculapius  will  be  seen  for 
several  days  after,  on  the  lop  of  a  wigwam,  with  his  right 
hand  extended  and  waving  over  the  gaping  multitude,  to 
whom  he  is  vaunting  forth,  without  modesty,  the  surprising 
skill  he  has  acquired  in  his  art,  and  the  undoubted  efficacy 
of  his  medicine  or  mystery.  But  if,  on  the  contrary,  the 
patient  dies,  he  soon  changes  his  dress,  and  joins  in  doleful 
lamentations  with  the  moamers ;  and  easily,  with  his  craft 
and  the  ignorance  and  superstition  of  his  people,  protects 
his  reputation  and  maintains  his  influence  over  them ;  by 
assuring  them,  that  it  was  the  will  of  the  Great  Spirit  that 
his  patient  should  die,  and  when  sent  for,  his  feeble  efforts 
must  cease. 

Such  was  the  case,  and  such  the  extraordinary  means 
resorted  to  in  the  instance  I  am  now  relating.  Several 
hundred  spectators,  including  Indians  and  traders,  were 
assembled  around  the  dying  man,  when  it  was  announced 
that  the  ^^ medicine-man^^  was  coming;  we  were  required  to 
•'form  a  ring,"  leaving  a  space  of  some  thirty  or  forty  feet 
in  diameter,  in  which  the  doctor  could  perform  his  wonder- 
ful operations ;  and  a  space  was  also  opened  to  allow  him 
free  room  to  pass  through  the  crowd  without  touching  any 
one.    This  being  done,  in  a  few  moments  his  arrival  was 

announced  by  the  death-like  "  hush sh "  through 

the  crowd ;  and  nothing  was  to  be  heard,  save  the  light  and 
casual  tinkling  of  the  rattles  upon  his  dress,  which  was 


Hm** 

■■v-:^-:\ 

X;:-  ,. 

i:4- 

lit 

H 

5;^^^ 

'*■-■■**.,: 

■^■'■. 

^M'' 

"^M 

rS 

'    'Hs 

^^^M 

.♦   .■■ 

;it!^ 

■•■  ,■'  (• '' 

.-M 

■W^ 

m 


m 


iSKL.,,:  .^.^- 


i 


76 


LBTTEBS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


scarcely  perceptible  to  the  ear,  as  he  cautiously  and  slowly 
moved  through  the  avenue  left  for  him ;  which  at  length 
brought  him  into  the  ring,  in  view  of  the  pitiable  object 
over  whom  his  mysteries  were  to  be  performed. 

Headers  1  you  may  have  Been  or  read  of  the  witch  of 
Endor — or  you  may  imagine  all  the  ghosts,  and  spirits,  and 
furies,  that  ever  ranked  amongst  the  "rank  and  file"  of 
demonology ;  and  yet  you  must  see  my  painting  of  this 
strange  scene  before  you  can  form  a  just  conception  of  real 
frightful  ugliness  and  Indian  conjuration — yes,  and  even 
more:  you  must  see  the  magic  dress  of  this  Indian  "big  bug" 
(which  I  have  this  day  procured  in  all  its  parts),  placed 
upon  the  back  of  some  person  who  can  imitate  the  stvi  les 
and  swells,  the  grunts,  and  spring  the  rattles  of,  an  Indian 
magician. 

His  entrfee  and  his  garb  were  somewhat  thus : — he  ap- 
proached the  ring  with  his  body  in  a  crouching  position, 
with  a  slow  and  tilting  stop — ^his  body  and  head  were 
entirely  covered  with  the  skin  of  a  yellow  bear,  the  head 
of  which  (his  own  head  being  inside  of  it)  served  as  a 
mask ;  the  huge  claws  of  which  also,  were  dangling  on  his 
wrists  and  ancles;  in  one  hand  he  shook  a  frightful  rattle, 
and  in  the  other  brandished  his  medicine-spear  or  magic 
wand ;  to  the  rattling  din  and  discord  of  all  of  which,  he 
add^d  the  wild  and  startling  jumps  and  yelps  of  the  Indian, 
and  the  horrid  and  appaUing  grunts,  and  snarls,  and  growls 
of  the  grizzly  bear,  in  ejaculatory  and  guttural  incantations 
to  the  Good  and  Bad  Spirits,  in  behalf  of  his  patient ;  who 
was  rolling  and  groaning  in  the  agonies  of  death,  whilst  he 
was  dancing  around  him,  jumping  over  him,  and  pawing 
him  about,  and  rolling  him  in  every  direction. 

In  this  wise,  this  strange  operation  proceeded  for  half  an 
hour,  to  the  surprise  of  a  numerous  and  death-like  silent 
audience,  until  the  man  died ;  and  the  medicine-man  danced 
off  to  his  quarters,  and  packed  up,  and  tied,  and  secured 
from  the  sight  of  the  world,  his  mystery  dress  and  equip- 
ments. 


he 


an 
lent 
Lced 
tred 

lip- 


NORTH  AlOEBICAK  mSIANS. 


77 


THE  MEDICIIiE  HAN,  FBOH  CATLIN'S  PAINTING. 


This  dress,  in  all  its  parts,  is  one  of  the  greatest  curiosi 
ties  in  the  whole  collection  of  Indian  manufactures.  It  is 
the  strangest  medley  and  mixture,  perhaps  of  the  mysteries 
of  the  animal  and  vegetable  kingdoms  that  ever  was  seen. 
Besides  the  skin  of  the  yellow  bear  (which  being  almost  an 
anomaly  in  that  country,  is  out  of  the  regular  order  of 
nature,  and,  of  course,  great  medicine,  and  converted  to  a 
medicine  use),  there  are  attached  to  it  the  skins  of  many 
animals,  which  are  also  anomalies  or  deformities,  which 
render  them,  in  their  estimation,  medicine;  and  there  are 
also  the  skins  of  snakes  and  fronts  and  bats  — ^beaks  and 


78 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES. 


toes  and  tails  of  birds, — hoofs  of  deer,  goats,  and  antelopes , 
and,  in  iact,  the  "odds  and  ends,"  and  fag  ends,  and  tails, 
and  tips  of  almost  everything  that  swims,  flies,  or  runs,  in 
this  part  of  the  wide  world. 

Such  is  a  medicine-man  or  a  physician,  and  such  is  one 
of  his  wild  and  ridiculous  manoBUvres,  which  I  have  just 
witnessed  in  this  strange  country. 

These  mon,  as  I  before  remarked,  are  valued  as  dignita- 
ries in  the  tribe,  and  the  greatest  respect  is  paid  to  them 
by  the  whole  community;  not  only  for  their  skill  in  their 
"materia  medica;"but  more  especially  for  their  tact  in 
magic  and  myLturies,  in  which  they  all  deal  to  a  very  great 
extent.  I  shall  have  much  more  to  say  of  these  characters 
and  their  doings  in  future  epistles,  and  barely  observe  in 
the  present  plaoe,  that  no  tribe  is  without  them ; — that  in 
all  tribes  their  doctors  are  conjurors — are  magicians — are 
soothsayers,  and  I  had  like  to  have  said,  high-priests, 
inasmuch  as  ihey  superintend  and  conduct  all  their  relig- 
iout  ceremonies ; — they  are  looked  upon  by  all  as  oracles 
0^  the  nation.  In  all  councils  of  war  and  peace,  they  have 
a  seat  with  the  chiefs — are  regularly  consulted  before  any 
public  step  is  taken,  and  the  greatest  deference  and  respect 
is  paid  to  their  opinions. 


LETTER  No.  VII. 


MOUTH  OP  YELLOW  STONE,  UPPER  MISSOURI. 

The  Letter  which  I  gave  you  yesterday,  on  the  subject 
of  *'  medicines"  and  medicine-men,"  haa  somewhat  broken 
the  '*  thread  of  my  discourse ;"  and  left  my  painting-room 
(in  the  bastion,)  and  all  the  Indians  in  it,  and  portraits,  and 
buffalo  hunts,  and  landscapes  of  these  beautiful  regions,  to 
be  taken  up  and  discussed ;  which  I  will  now  endeavor  to 
do,  beginning  just  where  I  left  (or  digre.  ;ed)  off. 

I  was  seated  on  the  cool  breech  of  a  twelve-pounder,  and 
had  my  easel  before  me,  and  Crows  and  Blackfeet,  and 
Assineboins,  whom  I  was  tracing  upon  the  canvass.  And 
so  I  have  been  doing  to-day,  and  shall  be  for  several  days 
to  come.  My  painting-room  has  become  so  great  a  lounge, 
and  I  so  great  a  "  medicine-man,"  that  all  other  amuse- 
ments are  left,  and  all  other  topics  of  conversation  and 
gossip  are  postponed  for  future  consideration.  The  chiefs 
have  had  to  place  "soldiers"  (as  they  are  called)  at  my 

(79) 


80 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  TUB 


door,  with  spears  in  hand  to  protect  me  from  the  throng, 
who  otherwise  would  press  upon  me ;  and  none  but  the 
worthies  are  allowed  to  come  into  my  medicine  apart- 
ments, and  none  to  be  painted,  except  such  as  are  decided 
by  the  chiefs  to  bo  worthy  of  so  high  an  honor.  .^  ;--  - 

The  Crows  and  Blackfeet  who  are  here  together,  are 
enemies  of  the  most  deadly  kind  while  out  on  the  plains ; 
but  here  they  sit  and  smoke  quietly  together,  yet  with  a 
studied  and  dignified  reserve. 

The  Blackfeet  are,  perhaps,  one  of  the  most  (if  not 
entirely  the  most)  numerous  and  warlike  tribes  on  the 
Continent.  They  occupy  the  whole  of  the  country  about 
the  sources  of  the  Missouri,  from  this  place  to  the  Rocky 
Mountains;  and  their  numbers,  from  the  best  computa- 
tions, are  something  like  forty  or  fifty  thousand — they  are 
(like  all  other  tribes  whose  numbers  are  sufficiently  large 
to  give  them  boldness)  warlike  and  ferocious,  i.  e.  they  are 
predatory,  are  roaming  fearlessly  about  the  country,  even 
into  and  through  every  part  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and 
carrying  war  amongst  their  enemies,  who  are,  of  course, 
every  tribe  who  inhabit  the  country  about  them. 

The  Crows  who  live  on  the  head  waters  of  Yellow 
Stone,  and  extend  from  this  neighborhood  also  to  the  base 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  are  similar  in  the  above  respects 
to  the  Blackfeet;  roaming  about  a  great  part  of  the  year 
— and  seeking  their  enemies  wherever  they  can  find  them. 

They  are  a  much  smaller  tribe  than  the  Blackfeet,  with 
whom  they  are  always  at  war,  and  from  whose  great 
numbers  they  suffer  prodigiously  in  battle ;  and  probably 
will  be  in  a  few  years  entirely  destroyed  by  them. 

The  Crows  have  not,  perhaps,  more  than  seven  thousand 
in  their  nation,  and  probably  not  more  than  eight  hundred 
warriors  or  fighting  men.  Amongst  the  more  powerful 
tribes,  like  the  Sioux  and  Blackfeet,  who  have  been 
enabled  to  preserve  their  warriors,  it  is  a  fair  calculation 
to  count  one  in  five  as  warriors ;  but  among  the  Crows  and 
Minatarees,   and  Puncahs,  and  several  other  small  but 


I    I 


are 


Tellow 
ba3e 
pects 
year 
hem. 
with 
great 
jably 

usand 
dred 

vrerful 
been 

ilation 

rra  and 
1  but 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


81 


warlike  tribes,  this  proportion  cannot  exist ;  as  in  some  of 
these  I  have  found  two  or  three  women  to  a  man  in  the 
nation;  in  consequence  of  the  continual  losses  sustained 
amongst  their  men  in  war,  and  also  whilst  pursuing  the 
buft'alocs  on  the  plains  for  food,  where  their  lives  are 
exceedingly  exposed. 

The  Blackfeet  and  the  Crows,  like  the  Sioux  and 
Assinncboins,  have  nearly  the  same  mode  of  constructing 
their  wigwam  or  lodge ;  in  which  tribes  it  is  made  of 
buflfalo  skins  sewed  together,  after  being  dressed,  and  made 
into  the  form  of  a  tent ;  supported  within  by  some  twenty 
or  thirty  pine  poles  of  twenty-five  feet  in  height,  with  an 
apex  or  aperture  at  the  top,  through  which  the  smoke 
escapes  and  the  light  is  admitted.  These  lodges,  or  tents, 
are  taken  down  in  a  few  minutes  by  the  squaws,  when 
they  wish  to  change  their  location,  and  easily  transported 
to  any  part  of  the  country  where  they  wish  to  encamp ; 
and  they  generally  move  some  six  or  eight  times  in  the 
course  of  the  summer;  following  the  immense  herds  of 
buflaloes,  as  they  range  over  these  vast  plains,  from  east 
to  west,  and  north  to  south.  The  objects  for  which  they 
do  this  are  two-fold — to  procure  and  dress  their  skins, 
which  are  brought  in,  in  the  fall  and  winter,  and  sold  to 
the  Fur  Company,  for  white  man's  luxury;  and  also  for 
the  purpose  of  killing  and  drying  buffalo  meat,  which  they 
bring  in  from  their  hunts,  packed  on  their  horses'  backs, 
in  great  quantities ;  making  pemican,  and  preserving  the 
marrow-fat  for  their  winter  quarters ;  which  aru  generally 
taken  up  in  some  heavy-timbered  bottom,  on  the  banks  of 
some  stream,  deep  imbedded  within  the  surrounding  bluffs, 
which  break  off  the  winds,  and  make  their  long  and 
tedious  winter  tolerable  and  supportable.  They  then 
sometimes  erect  their  fikin  lodges  amongst  the  timber,  and 
dwell  in  them  during  the  winter  months ;  but  more 
frequently  cut  logs  and  make  a  miserable  and  rude  sort  of 
log  cabin,  in  which  they  can  live  much  warmer  and  better 
protected  from  the  assaults  of  their  enemies,  in  case  they 
6 


vAm 


■■■ii  fi 

tn-  ■BSum 


82 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


are  attacked ;  in  which  case  a  log  cabin  is  a  tolerable  fort 
against  Indian  weapons. 

The  Crows,  of  all  the  tribes  in  this  region,  or  on  the 
Continent,  make  the  most  beautiful  lodge.  As  I  have 
before  mentioned,  they  construct  them  as  the  Sioux  do, 
and  make  them  of  the  same  material ;  yet  they  oftentimes 
dress  the  skins  of  which  they  are  composed  almost  as 


AN   INDIAN    I.0DOK 


white  as  linen,  and  beautifully  garnish  them  with  porcu- 
pine quills,  and  paint  and  ornament  them  in  such  a  variety 
of  ways,  as  renders  them  exoeedin^ly  picturesque  and 
agreoable  to  the  eye.    I  have  procured  a   very  beautiful 


rt 

he 
ve 

io, 

les 

as 


ml 


horcu- 
liricty 
and 
lutilul 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


83 


one  of  this  description  highly-ornamented,  and  fringed  with 
scalp-locks,  and  sufficiently  large  for  forty  men  to  dine 
under.  The  poles  which  support  it  are  about  thirty 
in  number,  of  pine,  and  all  cut  in  the  Kocky  Mountains, 
having  been  some  hundred  years,  perhaps,  in  use.  This 
tent,  when  erected,  is  about  twenty-five  feet  high,  and  has 
a  very  pleasing  effect;  with  the  Great  or  Good  Spirit 
painted  on  one  side,  and  the  Evil  Spirit  on  the  other. 

The  manner  in  which  an  encampment  of  Indians  strike 
their  tents  and  transport  them  is  curious,  and  to  the 
traveller  in  this  country  a  very  novel  and  unexpected  sight 
when  he  flrst  beholds  it.  Whilst  ascending  the  river  to 
this  place,  I  saw  an  encampment  of  Sioux,  consisting  of 
six  hundred  of  these  lodges,  struck,  and  all  things  packed 
and  on  the  move  in  a  very  few  minutes.  The  chief  sends 
his  runners  or  criers  (for  such  all  chiefs  keep  in  their 
employment)  through  the  village,  a  few  hours  before  they 
are  to  start ;  announcing  his  determination  to  move,  and 
the  hour  fixed  upon,  and  the  necessary  preparations  are  in 
the  meantime  making;  and  at  the  time  announced,  the 
lodge  of  the  chief  is  seen  flapping  in  the  wind,  a  part  of 
the  poles  having  been  taken  out  from  under  it ;  thir  is  the 
signal,  and  in  one  minute,  six  hundred  of  them  (on  !\  level 
and  beautiful  prairie),  which  before  had  been  sfcraineJ  •  '^ht 
and  fixed,  were  seen  waving  and  flapping  in  the  win-",  and 
in  one  minute  more  allVere  flat  upon  the  ground.  Their 
horses  and  dogj,  of  which  they  had  a  vast  number,  had  all 
been  secured  upon  the  spot,  in  readiness;  pa'M  each  one 
was  speedily  loaded  with  the  burthen  allotted  to  it,  and 
ready  to  fall  into  the  grand  procession. 

For  this  strange  cavalcade,  preparation  is  made  in  the 
following  manner:  the  poles  of  a  lodge  are  divided  into 
two  bunches,  and  the  little  ends  of  each  bunch  fastened 
upon  the  shoulders  or  withers  of  a  horse,  leaving  the  butt 
ends  to  drag  behind  on  the  ground  on  either  side.  Just 
behind  the  horse,  a  brace  or  pole  is  tied  across,  which 
keeps  the  poles  in  their  respective  places ;  and  then  upon 


■  * 


IM 


i  MM 


84 


LKTTEKS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


that  and  the  poles  behind  the  horse,  is  placed  the  lodge  or 
tent,  which  is  rolled  up,  and  also  numerous  other  articles  of 
household  and  domestic  furniture,  and  on  the  top  of  all, 
two,  three,  and  even  (sometimes)  four  women  and  children  ! 
Each  one  of  these  horses  has  a  conductress,  who  sometimes 
walks  before  and  leads  it,  with  a  tretjendous  pack  upon 
her  own  back  ;  and  at  others  t<he  sits  astride  of  its  back, 
with  a  child,  perhaps,  at  her  breast,  and  another  astride  of 
the  horse's  back  behind  her,  clinging  to  her  waist  with  one 
arm,  while  it  affectionately  embraces  a  sneaking  dog-pup  in 
the  other. 

In  this  way  five  or  six  hundred  wigwams,  with  all  their 
furniture  may  be  seen  drawn  out  for  miles,  creeping  over 
the  grass-covered  plains  of  this  country ;  and  three  times 
that  number  of  men,  on  good  horses,  strolling  along  in 
front  or  on  the  flank;  and,  in  some  tribes,  in  the  rear  of 
this  heterogeneous  caravan,  at  least  five  times  that  number 
of  dogs,  which  fall  into  the  rank,  and  follow  in  the  train 
and  company  of  the  women,  and  every  cur  of  them,  who  is 
large  enough,  and  not  too  cunning  to  be  enslaved,  is 
encumbered  with  a  car  or  sled  (or  whatever  it  may  be 
better  called),  on  which  he  patiently  drags  his  load — a  part 
of  the  household  goods  and  furniture  of  the  lodge  to  which 
he  belongs.  Two  poles,  about  fifteen  feet  long,  are  placed 
upon  the  dog's  shoulder,  in  the  same  manner  as  the  lodge 
poles  are  attached  to  the  horses,  leaving  the  larger  ends  to 
drag  upon  the  ground  behind  him  ;  on  which  is  placed  a 
bundle  or  wallet  which  is  allotted  to  him  to  carry,  and  with 
which  he  trots  off  amid  the  throng  of  dogs  and  squaws ; 
faithfully  and  cheerfully  dragging  his  load  'till  night,  and 
by  the  way  loitering  and  occasionally 

"Catching  at  little  bits  of  fun  and  glee, 
That's  played  on  dogs  enslaved  by  dog  that's?  free." 

The  Crows,  like  the  Blackfeet,  arc  beautifully  costumed, 
and  perhaps  with  somewhat  more  of  taste  and  elegance ; 
inasmuch  as  the  skins  of  which  their  dresses  arc  made  are 


i 


A  a 
rith 


imed, 
;ance ; 
ii;  aro 


NORTT  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


85 


more  delicately  and  w-iitely  dressed.  Tlie  art  of  dressing 
skins  belongs  to  the  .  iidians  in  all  countries ;  and  the 
Crows  surpass  the  civilized  world  in  the  beauty  of  their 
skin-dressing.  The  art  of  tanning  is  unknown  to  them,  so 
far  as  civilized  habits  an  1  arts  have  not  been  taught  them ; 
yet  the  art  of  dressing  ^  ans,  so  far  as  we  have  it  in  the 
civilized  world,  has  bet  i  (like  hundreds  of  other  orna- 
mental and  useful  cus-  )ms  which  we  are  practising,) 
borrowed  from  the  savaLo;  without  our  ever  stopping  to 
enquire  from  whence  they  come,  or  by  whom  invented. 

The  usual  mode  of  dressing  the  buffalo,  and  other  skins, 
is  by  immersing  them  for  a  few  days  under  a  lye  from 
ashes  and  water,  until  the  hair  can  be  removed ;  when  they 
are  strained  upon  a  frame  or  upon  the  ground,  with  stakes 
or  pins  driven  through  the  edges  into  the  earth;  where 
they  remain  for  several  days,  with  the  brains  of  the  buffalo 
or  elk  spread  upon  and  over  them;  and  at  last  finished  by 
•'  graining,"  as  it  is  termed,  by  the  squaws ;  who  use  a 
sharpened  bone,  the  shoulder-blade  or  other  large  bone  of 
the  animal,  sharpened  at  the  edge,  somewhat  like  an  adze ; 
with  the  edge  of  which  they  scrape  the  fleshy  side  of  the 
skin;  bearing  on  it  vHh  the  weight  of  their  bodies, 
thereby  drying  and  softening  the  skin,  and  fitting  it  for 
use. 

The  greater  part  of  these  skins,  however,  go  through 
still  another  operation  afterwards,  which  gives  them  a 
greater  valuc^  and  renders  them  much  more  serviceable — 
that  is,  the  process  of  smoking.  For  this,  a  small  hole  is 
dug  in  the  ground,  and  a  fire  is  built  in  it  with  rotten 
wood,  which  will  produce  a  great  quantity  of  smoke 
without  much  blaze ;  and  several  small  poles  of  the  proper 
length  stuck  in  the  ground  around  it,  and  drawn  and 
fastened  together  at  the  top,  around  which  a  skin  is 
wrapped  in  form  of  a  tent,  and  generally  sewed  together  at 
the  edges  to  secure  the  smoke  within  it ;  within  this  the 
skins  to  be  sraokv-od  are  placed,  and  in  this  condition  the 
tent  will  stand  a  day  or  so,  enclosing  the  heated  smoke ; 


tu 


,ii 


88 


LETTKRS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


and  by  some  chemical  process  or  other,  which  I  do  not 
understand,  the  skins  thus  acquire  a  quality  which  enables 
them,  after  being  ever  so  many  times  wet,  to  dry  soft  and 
pliant  as  they  were  before,  which  secret  I  have  never  yet 
seen  practised  in  my  own  country;  and  for  the  lack  of 
which,  all  of  our  dressed  skins  when  once  wet,  are,  I  think, 
chiefly  ruined. 

An  Indian's  dress  of  deer  skins,  which  is  wet  a  hundred 
times  upon  his  back,  dries  soft ;  and  his  lodge  also,  which 
stands  in  the  rains,  and  even  through  the  severity  of 
winter,  is  taken  down  as  soft  and  as  clean  as  wlu-n  it  was 
first  put  up. 

A  Crow  is  known  wherever  he  is  met  by  his  beautiful 
white  dress,  and  his  tall  and  elegant  figure ;  the  greater 
part  of  the  men  being  six  feet  high.  The  Blackfeet  on  the 
other  hand,  are  more  of  the  Ilerculean  make — about 
middling  stature,  with  broad  sliouldera,  and  great  expan- 
sion of  chest ;  and  the  skins  of  which  llieir  dresses  are 
made,  are  chiefly  dressed  black,  or  of  a  dark  brown  color; 
from  which  circumstance,  in  all  probability,  they,  having 
black  leggings  or  moccasins,  have  got  the  name  of  Black- 
feet. 

The  Crows  are  very  handsome  and  gentlemanly  Indians 
in  their  personal  appearance:  and  have  been  always 
reputed,  since  the  first  acquaintance  made  with  them,  very 
civil  and  friendly. 

These  people  to  be  sure,  have  in  some  instances  plun- 
dered and  robbed  trappers  and  travellers  in  their  country  ; 
and  for  that  I  have  sometines  heard  them  called  rascals 
and  thieves,  and  rogues  of  the  first  order,  &c. ;  yet  they  do 
not  consider  thems;!'  ss  an-  n;  for  thieving  in  their  estima- 
tion is  a  high  crime,  and  considered  the  most  disgraceful 
act  that  ?.  man  caii  possibly  do.  Tiiey  call  this  capturing^ 
whero  they  sometimes  run  off  a  Traders'  horses,  and  make 
tiieir  boast  of  it;  considering  it  a  kind  of  retaliation  or 
summary  justice,  which  they  think  it  right  and  honorable 
that   they    should   administer.      And   why    not?    for    :ho 


NORTH   AMERICAN   INDIANS. 


87 


unlicensed  trespass  committed  through  their  country  from 
one  end  to  the  other,  by  mercenary  white  men,  who  are 
destroying  the  game,  and  catching  all  the  beaver  and  other 
rich  and  valuable  furs  out  of  their  country,  without  paying 
them  an  equivalent,  or,  in  fact,  anything  at  all,  for  it;  and 
this  too,  when,  they  have  been  warned  time  and  again  of 
the  danger  they  would  be  in,  if  they  longer  persisted  in 
the  practice.  Eeader,  I  look  upon  the  Indian  as  the  most 
honest  and  honorable  race  of  people  that  I  ever  lived 
amongst  in  my  life ;  and  in  their  native  state,  I  pledge  you 
my  honor,  they  are  the  last  of  all  the  human  family  to 
pilfer  or  to  steal,  if  you  trust  to  their  honor ;  and  for  this 
never-ending  and  boundless  system  of  theft  and  plunder, 
and  debauchery,  that  is  practised  off  upon  these  rightful 
owners  of  the  soil,  by  acquisitive  white  men,  I  consider 
the  infliction,  or  retaliation,  by  driving  off  and  appropri 
ating  a  few  horses,  but  a  lenient  punishment,  which  those 
persons  at  least  should  expect;  and  which,  in  fact,  none 
but  a  very  honorable  and  high-minded  people  could  inflict, 
instead  of  a  much  severer  one ;  which  they  could  easily 
practice  upon  the  few  white  men  in  their  country,  without 
rendering  themselves  amenable  to  any  law. 

Mr.  M'Kenzie  has  repeatedly  told  me,  vlthin  the  four 
last  weeks,  while  in  conversation  relative  to  the  Crows, 
that  thfy  were  friendly  and  honorable  in  their  dealings 
with  the  whites,  and  that  he  considered  them  the  finest 
Indians  of  his  acquaintance. 

I  recollect  whilst  in  St.  Louis,  and  other  places  at  the 
East,  to  have  hoard  it  often  said,  that  the  Crows  were  a 
rascally  and  thieving  set  of  vagabonds,  highway  robbers, 
&c.  &c. ;  and  I  have  been  told  since,  that  this  information 
has  become  current  in  the  world,  from  the  fact  that  they 
made  some  depredations  upon  the  camp  of  Messrs.  Crooks 
and  Hunt  of  the  Fur  Company ;  and  drove  off  a  number 
of  their  horses,  when  they  were  passing  through  the  Crow 
country,  on  their  way  to  Astoria.  This  was  no  doubt, 
true;  and  equally  tru^  would  these  very  Indians  tell  us, 


i 


I  'Mr        1 


. ...  ( ..({r<':i2 


mm 


^>rS 


88 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


was  the  fact,  that  they  had  a  good  and  sufficient  reason 
for  it. 

These  gentlemen,  with  their  party,  were  crossing  the 
Crow  country  with  a  large  stock  of  goods,  of  guns,  and 
ammunition,  of  knives,  and  spears,  arrow-heads,  &c. ;  and 
stopped  for  some  time  and  encamped  in  the  midst  of  the 
Crow  country  (and  I  think  wintered  there,)  when  the 
Crows  assembled  in  large  numbers  about  them,  and 
treated  them  in  a  kind  and  friendly  manner ;  and  at  the 
same  time  proposed  to  trade  with  them  for  guns  and 
ammunition,  &c.,  (according  to  these  gentlemen's  own 
account,)  of  which  they  were  in  great  want,  and  for  which 
they  brought  a  great  many  horses,  and  offered  them 
repeatedly  in  trade ;  which  they  refused  to  take,  persisting 
in  their  determination  of  carrying  their  goods  to  their 
destined  place,  across  the  mountains ;  thereby  disappoint- 
ing these  Indians,  by  denying  them  the  arms  and  weapons 
which  were  in  their  possession,  whilst  they  were  living 
upon  them,  and  exhausting  the  game  and  food  of  their 
country.  No  doubt,  these  gentlemen  told  the  Crows,  that 
these  goods  were  going  to  Astoria,  of  which  place  they 
knew  nothing;  and  of  course,  it  was  enough  for  them  that 
they  were  going  to  take  them  farther  west;  which  they 
would  at  once  suppose  was  to  the  Blackfeet,  their  principal 
enemy,  having  eight  or  ten  warriors  to  one  of  the  Crows ; 
where  they  supposed  the  white  men  could  get  a  greater 
}iiice  for  their  weapons,  and  arm  their  enemies  in  such  a 
way  as  would  enable  them  to  turn  upon  the  Crows,  and 
cut  them  to  pieces  without  mercy.  Under  these  circum- 
stances^,  the  Crows  rode  off,  and  to  show  their  indignation, 
drove  off  some  of  the  Company's  horses,  for  which  they 
have  ever  since  been  denominated  a  bind  of  thieves  and 
highway  robbers.  It  is  a  custom,  and  a  part  of  the  system 
of  jurisprudence  amongst  all  savages,  to  revenge  upon  the 
I)erson  or  persons  who  give  the  offence,  if  they  can ;  and  if 
not,  to  let  that  punishment  fall  upon  the  head  of  the  first 
white  man  who  comes  in  their  way,  provided  the  offender 


I 


1 


^^^n 


and 
um- 

1 

ion, 

;l      H 

,hcy 

|i      ■ 

and 

teia 

the 

>dif 

first 

1  ^M 

ider 

1 

i 

NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


§9 


was  a  white  man.  And  I  would  not  be  surprised,  there- 
fore, if  I  get  robbed  of  my  horse ;  and  you  too,  readers,  if 
you  go  into  that  country,  for  that  very  (supposed)  ofifence. 

I  have  conversed  often  and  much  with  Messrs.  Sublette 
and  Campbell,  two  gentlemen  of  the  highest  respectability, 
who  have  traded  with  the  Crows  for  several  years,  and 
they  tell  me  they  are  one  of  the  most  honorable,  honest, 
and  high-minded  races  of  people  on  earth ;  and  with  Mr. 
Tullock,  also,  a  man  of  the  strictest  veracity,  who  is  now 
here  with  a  party  of  them ;  and,  he  says,  they  never  steal, 
have  a  high  sense  of  honor, — and  being  fearless  and  proud, 
are  quick  to  punish  or  retaliate. 

So  much  for  the  character  of  the  Crows  for  the  present, 
a  subject  which  I  shall  assuredly  take  up  again,  when  I 
shall  ixave  seen  more  of  them  myself. 


O 


i 


'Hi 


"  ti 


Cl 


5,       .    ''•■[sHv 


LEJTER  No.  Vni. 

MOUTH  OF  YEI  LOW  STONE,  UPPER  MISSOURI. 

SiS'i'K  iny  Irist  Letter,  nothing  of  great  moment  has 
trivn-pired  at  tlii>>  j)lacc ;  but  I  have  been  continually 
employed  in  painting  my  portraits  and  making  notes  on 
the  character  and  eustoms  of  the  wild  folks  who  are  about 
me,  I  have  just  been  painting  a  number  of  the  Crows,  fine 
looking  and  noble  gentlemen.  They  are  really  a  hand- 
some and  wcllforracd  set  of  men  as  can  be  seen  in  any 
part  of  the  world.  There  is  a  sort  of  ease  and  grace  added 
t)  their  dignity  of  uiannors,  which  gives  them  the  air  of 
gentlemen  at  once.  I  observed  the  other  day,  that  most  ct 
them  were  uver  six  feet  high,  and  very  many  of  these 
have  cultivated  their  natural  hair  to  such  an  almost 
acredibl''  length,  that  it  s^'eeps  the  ground  as  they  walk  • 
fJO) 


NORTH  AMERICAJS^  INDIANS. 


91 


there  are  frequent  instances  of  tliis  kind  amongst  tlicra, 
and  in  some  cases,  a  foot  or  more  of  it  will  drag  on  the 
grass  as  they  walk,  giving  exceeding  grace  and  beauty  to 
their  movements.  They  usually  oil  their  hair  with  a 
profusion  of  bear's  grease  e'  ery  morning,  which  is  no 
doubt  one  cause  of  the  unusual  length  to  which  their 
hair  extends;  though  it  cannot  be  the  sole  cau  of  it,  for 
the  other  iribes  throughout  this  country  usl  the  bear's 
grease  in  equal  profusion  without  producin  the  same 
results.    The  Mandans,  however,  and  the  Si'^  ''  whom 

I  shall  speak  in  future  epistles,  have  cultiv.cLcd  a  very 
great  growth  of  the  hair,  as  many  of  them  are  seen  whose 
hair  reaches  near  to  the  ground. 

This  extraordinary  length  of  hair  amongst  the  Crows  is 
confined  to  the  men  alone ;  for  the  women,  though  all  of 
them  with  glossy  and  beautiful  hair,  and  a  great  profusion 
of  it,  are  unable  to  cultivate  it  to  so  great  a  length  ;  or  else 
they  are  not  allowed  to  compete  with  their  lords  in  a, 
fashion  so  ornamental  (and  on  which  the  men  so  highly 
pride  themselves),  and  are  obliged  in  many  cases  to  cut 
it  short  off 

The  fashion  of  long  hair  amongst  the  men,  prevails 
throughout  all  the  "Western  and  North  Western  tribes, 
after  passing  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  ;  and  the  Pawnees  of  the 
Platte,  who,  with  two  or  three  other  tribes  only,  are  in  the 
habit  of  shaving  nearly  the  whole  head. 

The  present  chief  of  the  Crows,  who  is  called  "  Long 
hair,"  and  has  received  his  name  as  well  as  his  office  from 
the  circumstance  of  having  the  longest  hair  of  any  man  in 
the  nation,  I  have  not  yet  seen  :  but  I  hope  I  yet  may,  ere 
I  leave  this  part  of  the  country.  This  extraordinary  man 
is  known  to  several  gentlemen  with  whom  I  am  acquainted, 
and  particularly  to  Messrs.  Sublette  and  Campbell,  ot 
wlioin  I  have  before  spoken,  who  told  me  they  had  lived 
in  his  hospitable  lodge  for  months  together  ;  and  assured  mo 
that  they  had  measured  his  hair  by  a  correct  means,  and 
found  it  to  be  ten  feet  and  seven  inches  in  length ;  closely 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


1.1 


U|2e    |Z5 

|jo    "^^     Hl^^ 

1^  Ui    12.2 

?  "^  lis 


1.25  111.4    11.6 


Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


33  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  NY.  14580 

(716)  S73-4S03 


% 


fr= 


92 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


inspecting  every  part  of  it  at  the  same  time,  and  satisfying 
themselves  that  it  was  the  natural  growth. 

On  ordinary  occasions  it  is  wound  with  a  broad  leather 
strap,  from  his  head  to  its  extreme  end,  and  then  folded  up 
into  a  budget  or  block,  of  some  ten  or  twelve  inches  in 
length,  and  of  some  pounds  weight ;  which  when  he  walks 
is  carried  under  his  arm,  or  placed  in  his  bosom,  within  the 
folds  of  his  robe ;  but  on  any  great  parade  or  similar  occa- 
sion, his  pride  is  to  unfold  it,  oil  it  with  bear's  grease  and  let 
it  drag  behind  him,  some  three  or  four  feet  of  it  spread  out 
upon  the  grass,  and  black  and  shining  like  a  raven's  wing. 

It  is  a  common  custom  amongst  most  of  these  upper 
tribes,  to  splice  or  add  on  several  lengths  of  hair,  by 
fastening  them  with  giue;  probably  for  the  purpose  of 
imitating  the  Crows,  upon  whom  alone  Nature  has  be- 
stowed this  conspicuous  and  signal  ornament. 

Amongst  the  Crows  of  distinction  now  at  this  place,  I 
have  painted  the  portraits  of  several,  who  exhibit  some 
striking  peculiarities.  Amongst  whom  is  Chah-ee-chopes, 
(the  four  wolves,)  a  fine-looking  fellow,  six  feet  in  stature, 
and  whose  natural  hair  sweeps  the  grass  as  he  walks ;  he 
is  beautifully  clad,  and  carries  himself  with  the  most 
graceful  and  manly  mien — he  is  in  mourning  for  a 
brother;  and  according  to  their  custom,  has  cut  off  a 
number  of  locks  of  his  long  hair,  which  is  as  much  as 
a  man  can  well  spare  of  so  valued  an  ornament,  which  he 
has  been  for  the  greater  part  of  his  life  cultivating ;  whilst 
a  woman  '  lio  mourns  for  a  husband  or  child,  is  obliged  to 
crop  her  hair  short  to  her  head,  and  so  remain  till  it  grows 
out  again ;  ceasing  gradually  to  mourn  as  her  hair 
approaches  to  its  former  length.  > 

I  have  also  painted  Pa-ris-ka-roo-pa  (two  crows)  the 
younger,  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  men  in  the  Crow 
nation ;  not  only  for  his  looks,  from  the  form  of  his  head, 
which  seems  to  be  distortion  itself — and  curtailed  of  all  its 
fair  proportions;  but  from  his  extraordinary  sagacity  as 
a  counsellor  and  orator,  even  at  an  early  stage  of  his  life. 


KOBTH  AMERICAir  INDIANS. 


93 


I  the 
Crow 
head, 
all  its 
Bity  aa 
lis  life. 


There  is  something  very  uncommoii  in  this  outline,  and 
sets  forth  the  striking  peculiarity  of  the  Crow  tribe,  though 
rather  in  an  exaggerated  form.  The  semi-lunar  outline 
of  the  Crow  head,  with  an  exceedingly  low  and  retreating 
forehead,  is  certainly  a  very  peculiar  and  striking  charac- 
teristic ;  and  though  not  so  strongly  marked  in  most  of  the 
tribe  as  in  the  present  instance,  is  sufficient  for  their 
detection  whenever  they  are  met ;  and  will  be  subject  for 
further  comment  in  another  place. 

The  Crow  women  (and  Blackfeet  also)  are  not  handsome, 
and  I  shall  at  presout  say  but  little  of  them.  They  are 
like  all  other  Indian  women,  the  slaves  of  their  husbands : 
being  obliged  to  perform  all  the  domestic  duties  and 
drudgeries  of  the  tribe,  and  not  allowed  to  join  in  their 
religious  rites  or  ceremonies,  nor  in  the  dance  or  other 
amusements. 

The  women  in  all  these  upper  and  western  tribes  are 
decently  dressed,  and  many  of  them  with  great  beauty  and 
taste ;  their  dresses  are  all  of  deer  or  goat  skins,  extending 
from  their  chins  quite  down  to  the  feet;  these  dresses  are 
in  many  instances  trimmed  with  ermine,  and  ornamented 
with  porcupine  quills  and  beads  with  exceeding  ingenuity. 

The  Crow  and  Blackfeet  women,  like  all  others  I  ever 
saw  in  any  Indian  tribe,  divide  the  hair  on  the  forehead, 
and  paint  the  separation  or  crease  with  vermilion  or  red 
earth.  For  what  purpose  this  little,  but  universal,  custom 
is  observed,  I  never  have  been  able  to  learn. 

The  men  amongst  the  Blackfeet  tribe,  have  a  fashion 
equally  simple,  and  probably  of  as  little  meaning,  which 
seems  strictly  to  be  adhered  to  by  every  man  in  the  tribe ; 
they  separate  the  hair  in  two  places  on  the  forehead,  leaving 
a  lock  between  the  two,  of  an  inch  or  two  in  width,  which 
is  carefully  straightened  down  on  to  the  bridge  of  the  nose, 
and  there  cut  square  off.  It  is  more  than  probable  that 
this  is  done  for  the  purpose  of  distinction ;  that  they  may 
thereby  be  free  from  the  epithet  of  effeminacy,  which  might 
otherwise  attach  to  them. 


94 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


These  two  tribes,  whom  I  have  spoken  of  connectedly, 
speak  two  distinct  and  entirely  dissiptiilar  languages ;  and 
the  language  of  each  is  different,  and  radically  so,  from  that 
of  all  other  tribes  about  them.  As  these  people  are  always 
at  war,  and  have  been,  time  out  of  mind,  they  do  not  inter- 
marry or  hold  converse  with  each  other,  by  which  any 
knowledge  of  each  other's  language  could  be  acquired.  It 
would  be  the  work  of  a  man's  lifetime  to  collect  the 
languages  of  all  the  different  tribes  which  I  am  visiting ; 
and  I  shall,  from  necessity,  leave  this  subject  chiefly  for 
others,  who  have  the  time  to  devote  to  them,  to  explain 
them  to  the  world.  I  have,  however,  procured  a  brief 
vocabulary  of  their  words  and  sentences  in  these  tribes ; 
and  shall  continue  to  do  so  amongst  the  tribes  I  shall  visit, 
which  will  answer  as  a  specimen  or  sample  in  each. 

The  Blackfeet  are,  perhaps,  the  most  powerful  tribe  of 
Indians  on  the  Continent;  and  being  sensible  of  their 
strength,  have  stubbornly  resisted  the  Traders  in  their 
country,  who  have  been  gradually  forming  an  acquaintance 
with  them,  and  endeavoring  to  establish  a  permanent  and 
profitable  system  of  trade.  Their  country  abounds  in 
beaver  and  buffalo,  and  most  of  the  fur-bearing  animals  of 
North  America ;  and  the  American  Fur  Company,  with  an 
unconquerable  spirit  of  trade  and  enterprize,  has  pushed  its 
establishments  into  their  country ;  and  the  numerous  parties 
of  trappers  are  tracing  up  their  streams  and  rivers,  rapidly 
destroying  the  beavers  which  dwell  in  them.  The  Black- 
feet  have  repeatedly  informed  the  Traders  of  the  Company, 
that  if  their  men  Persisted  in  trapping  beavers  in  their 
country,  they  should  kill  them  whenever  they  met  them. 
They  have  executed  their  threats  in  many  instances,  and 
the  Company  lose  some  fifteen  t'^  twenty  men  annually, 
who  fall  by  the  hands  of  these  )le,  in  defence  of  what 
they  deem  their  property  and  tL^./  rights.  Trinkets  and 
whisky,  however,  will  soon  spread  their  charms  amongst 
these,  as  they  have  amongst  other  tribes ;  and  white  man's 
voracity  will  sweep  the  prairies  and  the  streams  of  their 


lan's 
Ibheir 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


95 


wealth,  to  the  Eocky  Mountains  and  the  Pacific  Ocean; 
leaving  the  Indians  to  inhabit,  and  at  last  to  starve  upon, 
a  dreary  and  solitary  waste. 

The  Blackfeet,  therefore,  having  been  less  traded  with, 
and  less  seen  by  white  people  than  most  of  the  other  tribes, 
are  more  imperfectly  understood;  and  it  yet  remains  a 
question  to  be  solved — whether  there  are  twenty,  or  forty 
or  fifty  thousand  of  them  ?  for  no  one,  as  yet,  can  correctly 
estimate  their  real  strength.  From  all  I  can  learn,  however, 
which  is  the  best  information  that  can  be  got  &om  the 
Traders,  there  are  not  far  from  forty  thousand  Indians 
(altogether),  who  range  under  the  general  denomination  of 
Blackfeet. 

From  our  slight  and  imperfect  knowledge  of  them,  and 
other  tribes  occupying  the  country  about  the  sources  of  the 
Missouri,  there  is  no  doubt  in  my  mind,  that  we  are  in  the 
habit  of  bringing  more  Indians  into  the  computation,  than 
are  entitled  justly  to  the  appellation  of  "Blackfeet" 

Such,  for  instance,  are  the  "Grosventres  de  Prairie"  and 
Cotonnfes,  neither  of  which  speak  the  Blackfeet  language ; 
but  hunt,  and  eat,  and  fight,  and  intermarry  with  the 
Blackfeet ;  living  therefore  ir  a  state  of  confederacy  and 
friendship  with  them,  but  speaking  their  own  language, 
and  practising  their  own  custom.. 

The  Blackfeet  proper  are  divided  into  four  bands  or 
families,  as  follow: — the  "Pe-a-gans,"  of  five  hundred 
lodges ;  the  "  Blackfoot "  band,  of  four  hundred  and  fifty 
lodges;  the  "Blood"  band,  of  four  hundred  and  fifty  lodges; 
and  the  "Small  Robes,"  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  lodges. 
These  four  bands  constituting  about  sixteen  hundred  and 
fifty  lodges,  averaging  ten  to  the  lodge,  amount  to  about 
sixteen  thousand  five  hundred  souls. 

There  are  then  of  the  other  tribes  above-mentioned  (and 
whom  we,  perhaps,  incorrectly  denominate  Blackfeet), 
Grosventres  des  Prairies,  four  hundred  and  thirty  lodges, 
with  language  entirely  distinct ;  Circees,  of  two  hundred 


96 


LKTTEBS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


and  twenty  lodges,  and  Cotonnds,  of  two  hundred  and  fifty 
lodges,  with  language  also  distinct  from  either  * 

There  is  in  this  region  a  rich  and  interesting  field  for 
the  linguist  or  the  antiquarian;  and  stubborn  facts,  I  think, 
if  they  could  be  well  procured,  that  would  do  away  the 
idea  which  many  learned  gentlemen  entertain,  that  the 
Indian  languages  of  North  America  can  all  be  traced  to 
two  or  three  roots.  The  language  of  the  Daacotas  is 
entirely  and  radically  distinct  from  that  of  the  Mandans, 
and  theirs  equally  so  from  the  Blackfoot  and  the  Crows. 
And  from  the  lips  of  Mr.  Brazeau,  a  gentleman  of  education 
and  strict  observation,  who  has  lived  several  years  with  the 
Blackfeet  and  the  Shiennes,  and  who  speaks  the  language 
of  tribes  on  either  side  of  them,  assures  me  that  these 
languages  are  radically  distinct  and  dissimilar,  as  I  have 
above  stated ;  and  also,  that  although  he  has  been  several 
years  amongst  those  tribes,  he  has  not  been  able  to  trace 
the  slightest  resemblance  between  the  Circee,  Cotonne,  and 
Blackfoot,  and  Shienne,  and  Crow,  and  Mandan  tongues; 
and  from  a  great  deal  of  corroborating  information,  which 
I  have  got  from  other  persona  acquainted  with  these  tribes, 
I  am  fully  convinced  of  the  correctness  of  his.  statement. 

Besides  the  Blackfeet  and  Crows,  whom  I  told  you  were 
assembled  at  this  place,  are  also  the  Knisteneaux  (or  Crees, 
as  they  are  commonly  called),  a  very  pretty  and  pleasing 
tribe  of  Indians,  of  about  three  thousand  in  number,  living 
on  the  north  of  this,  and  also  the  Assinneboins  and  Ojibbe- 
ways ;  both  of  which  tribes  also  inhabit  the  country  to  the 
north  and  north-east  of  the  mouth  of  Yellow  Stone. 

The  Knisteneaux  are  of  small  stature,  but  well-built  for 


*  Several  years  since  writing  the  above,  I  held  a  conversation  with 
Major  Pilchcr  (a  strictly  correct  and  honorable  man,  who  was  then 
the  agent  for  these  people,  who  has  livrd  amongst  them,  and  is  at  this 
time  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs  at  St.  Louis),  who  informed  me, 
liiuch  to  my  surprise,  that  the  Blackfeet  were  not  far  from  sixty 
thousand  in  numbers,  including  all  the  confederacy  of  which  I  have  just 
spoken. 


t?!* 


NORTH  AMEBIOAK  INDIANS. 


07 


strength  and  activity  combined ;  are  a  people  of  wonderful 
prowess  for  their  numbers,  and  have  waged  an  unceasing 
warfare  with  the  Blaokfeet,  who  are  their  neighbors?  and 
enemies  on  the  west^  From  their  disparity  in  numbers, 
they  are  rapidly  thinning  the  ranks  of  their  warriors, 
who  bravely  sacrifice  their  lives  in  contentions  with  their 
powerful  neighbors.  This  tribe  occupy  the  country  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Yellow  Stone,  in  a  north-western 
direction,  ikr  into  the  British  territory,  and  trade  princi- 
pally at  the  British  N.  W.  Company's  Posts. 

The  Assinneboins  of  seven  thousand,  and  the  Ojibbeways 
of  six  thousand,  occupy  a  vast  extent  of  country,  in  a 
north-eastern  direction  from  this ;  extending  also  into  the 
British  possessions  as  high  north  as  Lake  Winnepeg ;  and 
trading  principally  with  the  British  Company.  These 
three  tribes  are  in  a  state  of  nature,  living  as  neighbors, 
and  are  also  on  terms  of  friendship  with  each  other.  This 
friendship,  however,  is  probably  but  a  temporary  arrange- 
ment, brought  about  by  the  Traders  amongst  them ;  and 
which,  like  most  Indian  peace  establishments,  will  be  of 
short  duration.         ;.!;;.;•",'!]       .^.-f  f  ::l  ";i;v/ oilvi  jiinj  ;; 

The  Ojibbeways  are,  undoubtedly,  a  part  of  the  tribe  of 
Chippeways,  with  whom  we  aro  more  familiarly  acquainted, 
and  who  inhabit  the  south-west  shore  of  Lake  Superior. 
Their  language  is  the  same,  though  they  are  separated 
several  hundred  miles  from  any  of  them,  and  seem  to  have 
no  knowledge  of  them,  or  traditions  of  the  manner  in 
which,  or  of  the  time  when,  they  became  severed  from  each 
other. 

Tho  Assinneboins  are  a  part  of  the  Dahcotas,  or  Sioux, 
undoubtedly ;  for  their  personal  appearance  as  well  as  their 
language  is  very  similar. 

At  what  time,  or  in  what  manner,  these  two  parts  of  a 
nation  got  strayed  away  from  each  other  is  a  mystery ;  yet 
such  cases  have  often  occured,  of  which  I  shall  say  more 
in  future.    Large  parties  who  are  straying  off  in  pursuit 


of  game, 

7 


or    in  the  occupation  of  war,  are  oftentimes 


M 


98 


LEITEBS  AXD  NOTES  OK  THE 


intercepted  by  their  enemy;  and  being  prevented  from 
returning,  are  run  ofif  to  a  distant  region,  where  they  take 
up  their  residence  and  establish  themselves  as  a  nation: 

There  is  a  very  curious  custom  amongst  the  Assinne- 
boins,  from  which  they  have  taken  their  name;  a  name 
given  them  by  their  neighbors,  from  a  singular  mode  they 
have  of  boiling  their  meat,  which  is  done  in  the  following 
manner : — when  they  kill  meat,  a  hole  is  dug  in  the  ground 
about  the  size  of  a  common  pot,  and  a  piece  of  the  raw 
hide  of  the  animal,  as  taken  from  the  back,  is  put  over  the 
hole,  and  then  pressed  down  with  the  hands  close  around 
the  sides,  and  filled  with  water.  The  meat  to  be  boiled  is 
then  put  in  this  hole  or  pot  of  water ;  and  in  a  fire,  which 
is  built  near  by,  several  large  stones  are  heated  to  a  red 
heat,  which  are  successively  dipped  and  held  in  the  water 
until  the  meat  is  boiled ;  from  which  singular  and  peculiar 
custom,  the  Ojibbeways  have  given  them  the  appellation  of 
Assinneboins  or  stone  boilers. 

This  custom  is  a  very  awkward  and  tedious  one,  and 
used  only  as  an  ingenious  means  of  boiling  their  meat,  by 
a  tribe  who  was  too  rude  and  ignorant  to  construct  a  kettle 
or  pot. 

The  Traders  have  recently  supplied  these  people  with 
pots;  and  even  long  before  that,  the  Mandans  had  in- 
structed them  in  the  secret  of  manufacturing  very  good 
and  serviceable  earthen  pots ;  which  together  have  entirely 
done  away  the  custom,  excepting  at  public  festivals ;  where 
they  Sbjm,  like  all  others  of  the  human  family,  to  take 
pleasure  in  cherishing  and  perpetuating  their  ancient 
customs. 

The  Assinneboins,  or  stone  boilers,  are  a  fine  and  noble 
looking  race  of  Indians ;  bearing,  both  in  their  looks  and 
customs,  a  striking  resemblance  to  the  Dahcotas  or  Sioux, 
from  whom  they  have  undoubtedly  sprung.  The  men  are 
tall,  and  graceful  in  their  movements;  and  wear  their 
pictured  robes  of  the  buffalo  hide  with  great  skill  and 
pleasing  effect     They  are  good  hunters,  and  tolerably 


Dble 
land 
>ux, 

are 
Ibeir 

and 
lably 


NORTH  AMEHIOAK  INDIANS. 


0» 


supplied  yrith  horses ;  and  living  in  a  country  abounding 
with  buffaloes,  are  well  supplied  with  the  necessaries  ot 
Indian  life,  and  may  be  said  to  live  well.  Their  games 
and  amusements  are  many,  of  which  the  most  valued  one 
is  the  ball-play ;  and  in  addition  to  which,  they  have  the 
game  of  the  moccasin,  horse-racing,  and  dancing;  some 
one  of  which,  they  seem  to  be  almost  continually  practicing, 
and  of  all  of  which  I  shall  hereafter  give  the  reader  (as 
well  as  of  many  others  of  their  amusements)  a  minute 
account. 

Their  dances,  which  were  frequent  and  varied,  were 
generally  exactly  the  same  as  those  of  the  Sioux,  of  which 
I  have  given  a  faithful  account  in  my  Notes  on  the  Sioux, 
and  which  the  reader  will  soon  meet  with.    There  was  one 
of  these  scenes,  however,  that  I  witnessed  the  other  day, 
which  appeared  to  me  to  be  peculiar  to  this  tribe,  and 
exceedingly  picturesque  in  its  eflfect ;  which  was  described 
to  me  as  the  pipe-dance^  and  was  as  follows : — On  a  hard- 
trodden  pavement  in  front  of  their  village,  which  place  is 
used  for  all  their  public  meetings,  and  many  of  their 
amusements,  the  young  men,  who  were  to  compose  the 
dance,  had  gathered  themselves  around  a  small  fire,  and 
each  one  seated  on  a  buffalo-robe  spread  upon  the  ground. 
In  the  centre  and  by  the  fire,  was  seated  a  dignitary,  who 
seemed  to  be  a  chief  (perhaps  a  doctor  or  medicine-man), 
with  a  long  pipe  in  his  hand,  which  he  lighted  at  the  fire 
and  smoked  incessantly,  grunting  forth  at  the  same  time,  in 
half-strangled  gutturals,  a  sort  of  song,  which  I  did  not  get 
translated  to  my  satisfaction,  and  which  might  have  been 
susceptible  of  none.   While  this  was  going  on,  another  grim 
visaged  fellow  in  another  part  of  the  gi'oup  commenced 
beating  on  a  drum  or  tambourine,  accompanied  by  his 
voice ;  when  one  of  the  young  men  seated,  sprang  instantly 
on  his  feet,  and  commenced  singing  in  time  with  the  taps 
of  the  drum,  and  leaping  about  on  one  foot  and  the  other 
in  the  most  violent  manner  imaginable.    In  this  way  he 
went  several  times  around  the  circle,  bowing  and  brandish* 


mr 


:^ 


100 


LXTTEBS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


ing  his  fists  in  the  faces  of  each  one  who  was  seated,  until 
at  length  he  grasped  one  of  them  by  the  hands,  and  jerked 
him  forcibly  up  upon  his  feet ;  who  joined  in  the  dance 
for  a  moment,  len  ving  the  one  who  had  polled  him  up,  to 
continue  his  steps  and  his  song  in  the  centre  of  the  ring ; 
whilst  he  danced  around  in  a  similar  manner,  jerking  up 
another,  and  then  joining  his  companion  in  the  centre; 
leaving  the  third  and  the  fourth,  and  so  on  to  drag  into  the 
ring,  each  one  his  man,  until  all  were  upon  their  feet ;  and 
at  last  joined  in  the  most  frightful  gesticulations  and  yells 
that  seemed  almost  to  make  the  earth  quake  under  our 
feet.  This  strange  manoeuvre,  which  I  but  partially 
understood,  lasted  for  half  or  three-quarters  of  an  hour ;  to 
the  great  amusement  of  the  gaping  multitude  who  were 
assembled  around,  and  broke  up  with  the  most  piercing 
yells  and  barks  like  those  of  so  many  afirighted  dogs. 

The  Assinneboins,  somewhat  like  the  Crows,  cultivate 
their  hair  to  a  very  great  length,  in  many  instances  reaching 
down  nearly  to  the  ground ;  but  in  most  instances  of  this 
kind,  I  find  the  great  length  is  produced  by  splicing  or 
adding  on  several  lengths,  which  are  fastened  very  ingeni- 
ously by  means  of  glue,  and  the  joints  obscured  by  a  sort 
of  paste  of  red  earth  and  glue,  with  which  the  hair  is  at 
intervals  of  every  two  or  three  inches  filled,  and  divided 
into  locks  and  slabs  of  an  inch  or  so  in  breadth,  and  falling 
straight  down  over  the  back  to  the  heels. 

I  have  painted  the  portrait  of  a  very  distinguished  young 
man,  and  son  of  the  chief;  his  dress  is  a  very  handsome 
one,  and  in  every  respect  answers  well  to  the  descriptions 
I  have  given  above.  The  name  of  this  man  is  Wi-jun-jon 
(the  pigeon's  egg  head),  and  by  the  side  of  him  is  tho 
portrait  of  his  wife,  Chin-cha-pee  (the  fire-bug  that  creeps), 
a  fine  looking  squaw,  in  a  handsome  dress  of  the  mountain- 
sheep  skin,  holding  in  her  hand  a  stick  curiously  carved, 
with  which  every  woman  in  this  country  is  supplied ;  for 
the  purpose  of  digging  up  the  "Pomme  Blanche,"  or 
prairie  turnip,  which  is  found  in  great  quantities  in  these 


or 
lese 


NORTH  AMERICAN  mUHANB. 


101 


northern  prairies,  and  furnishes  the  Indians  with  an  abun- 
dant and  nourishing  food.  The  women  collect  these 
turnips  by  striking  the  end  of  the  Stick  into  the  ground, 
and  prying  them  out;  after  which  they  are  dried  and 
preserved  in  their  wigwams  for  use  during  the  season. 

I  have  just  had  the  satis&ction  of  seeing  this  travelled- 
gentleman  (Wi-junjon)  meet  his  tribe,  his  wife  and  his 
little  children ;  after  an  absence  of  a  year  or  more,  on  his 
journey  of  six  thousand  miles  to  Washington  City,  and 
back  again  (in  company  with  Major  Sanford,  the  Indian 
agent);  where  he  has  been  spending  the  winter  amongst 
the  fashionables  in  the  polished  circles  of  civilized  society 

And  I  can  assure  you,  readers,  that  his  entrde  amongst 
his  own  people,  in  the  dress  and  with  the  airs  of  a  civilized 
beau,  was  one  of  no  ordinary  occurrence ;  and  produced  no 
common  sensation  amongst  the  red-visaged  Assinneboins, 
or  in  the  minds  of  those  who  were  travellers,  and  but  spec- 
tators to  the  scene. 

On  hi»  way  home  from  St.  Louis  to  this  place,  a  distance 
of  two  thousand  miles,  I  travelled  with  this  gentleman,  on 
the  steamer  Yellow  Stone ;  and  saw  him  step  ashore  (on  a 
beautiful  prairie,  where  several  thousands  of  his  people 
were  encamped,)  with  a  complete  suit  en  militaire,  a 
colonel's  uniform  of  blue,  presented  to  him  by  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  United  States,  with  a  beaver  hat  and  feather, 
with  epaulettes  of  gold — with  sash  and  belt,  and  broad 
sword;  with  high-heeled  boots — with  a  keg  of  whisky 
under  his  arm,  and  a  blue  umbrella  in  his  hand.  In  this 
plight  and  metamorphose,  he  took  his  position  on  the 
bank,  amongst  his  friends — his  wife  and  other  relations ; 
not  one  of  whom  exhibited,  for  an  half-hour  or  more,  the 
least  symptoms  of  recognition,  although  they  knew  well 
who  was  before  them.  He  also  gazed  upon  them — upon 
his  wife  and  parents,  and  little  children,  who  were  about, 
as  if  they  were  foreign  to  him,  and  he  had  not  a  feeling  or 
thought  to  interchange  with  them.  Thus  the  mutual 
gazings  upon  and  from  this  would-be-stranger,  lasted  for 


M 


102 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  TUB 


full  half  aa  hour ;  when  a  gradual,  but  cold  and  exceed- 
ingly formal  recognition  began  to  take  place,  and  an 
acquaintance  ensued,  which  ultimately  and  smoothly 
resolved  itself,  without  the  least  apparent  emotion,  into  its 
former  state ;  and  the  mutual  kindred  intercourse  seemed 
to  flow  on  exactly  where  it  had  been  broken  oflF,  aa  if  it 
had  been  but  for  a  moment,  and  nothing  had  transpired  in 
the  interim  to  check  or  change  its  character  or  expression. 

Such  is  one  of  the  stoic  instances  of  a  custom  which 
belongs  to  all  the  North  American  Indians,  forming  one  of 
the  most  striking  features  in  their  character;  valued, 
cherished  and  practiced,  like  many  others  of  their  strange 
notions,  for  reasons  which  are  difficult  to  be  learned  or 
understood;  and  which  probably  will  never  be  justly 
appreciated  by  others  than  themselves. 

This  man,  at  this  time,  is  creating  a  wonderful  sensation 
amongst  his  tribe,  who  are  daily  and  nightly  gathered  in 
gaping  and  listless  crowds  around  him,  whilst  he  is 
descanting  upon  what  ho  has  seen  in  the  fashionable  world ; 
and  which  to  them  is  unintelligible  and  beyond  their 
comprehension ;  for  which  I  find  they  are  already  setting 
him  down  as  a  liar  and  impostor. 

What  may  be  the  final  results  of  his  travels  and 
initiation  into  the  fashionable  world,  and  to  what  disasters 
his  incredible  narrations  may  yet  subject  the  poor  fellow 
in  this  strange  land,  time  only  will  develop. 

He  is  now  in  disgrace,  and  spurned  by  the  leading  men 
of  the  tribe,  and  rather  to  be  pitied  than  envied,  for 
the  advantages  which  one  might  have  supposed  would 
have  flown  from  his  fashionable  tour.  More  of  this  curious 
occurrence  and  of  this  extraordinary  man,  I  will  surely 
give  in  some  future  epistles. 

The  women  of  this  tribe  are  often  comely,  and  some- 
times pretty ;  the  dresses  cf  the  women  and  children,  are 
usually  made  of  the  skins  of  the  mountain-goat,  and 
ornamented  with  porcupine's  quills  and  rows  of  elk's  teeth. 

The  Knistoneaux  (or  Crees,  as  they  are  more  familiarly 


ly 


I 


¥^-^' 


NORTH  AMEBIOAK  INDIANS. 


103 


called  in  this  country)  are  a  very  numerous  tribe,  ex- 
tending from  this  place  as  high  north  as  the  shores  of  Lake 
"Winnepeg;  and  even  much  further  in  a  north-westerly 
direction,  towards,  and  even  through,  a  great  part  of  the 
Bocky  Mountains. 

I  have  before  said  of  these,  that  they  were  about  three 
thousand  in  numbers — by  that,  I  meant  but  a  small  part  of 
this  extensive  tribe,  who  are  in  the  habit  of  visiting  the 
American  Fur  Company's  Establishment,  at  this  place,  to 
do  their  trading ;  and  who  themselves,  scarcely  know  any- 
thing of  the  great  extent  of  country  over  which  this 
numerous  and  scattered  family  range.  Their  customs  may 
properly  be  said  to  be  primitive,  as  no  inroads  of  civilized 
habits  have  been  as  yet  successfully  made  amongst  them. 
Like  the  other  tribes  in  these  regions,  they  dress  in  skins, 
and  gain  their  food,  and  conduct  their  wars  in  a  very 
similar  manner.  They  are  a  very  daring  and  most 
adventurous  tribe ;  roaming  vast  distances  over  the  prairies 
and  carrying  war  into  their  enemy's  country.  With  the 
numerous  tribe  of  Blackfeet,  they  are  always  waging  an 
uncompromising  warfare;  and  though  fewer  in  numbers 
and  less  in  stature,  they  have  shewn  themselves  eq^ual  in 
sinew,  and  not  less  successful  in  mortal  combats. 


'}M'l  '"\ 


'      M 


LETTER  No.  IX. 
MOUTH  OP  YELLOW  STONE,  UPPER  MISSOURI. 

Since  tbe  dates  of  my  other  Letters  from  this  place,  I 
have  been  taking  some  wild  rambles  about  this  beautiful 
country  of  green  fields;  jolted  and  tossed  about,  on 
horseback  and  on  foot,  where  pen,  ink,  and  paper  never 
thought  of  going ;  and  of  course  the  most  that  I  saw  and 
have  learned,  and  would  tell  to  the  world,  is  yet  to  bo 
written.  It  is  not  probable,  however,  that  I  shall  again 
date  a  letter  at  this  place,  as  I  commence,  in  a  few  days, 
my  voyage  down  the  river  in  a  canoe ;  but  yet  I  may  give 
you  many  a  retrospective  glance  at  this  fairy  land  and  its 
amusements. 

A  traveller  on  his  tour  through  such  a  country  as  this, 
has  no  time  to  write,  and  scarcely  time  enough  to  moralize. 
(104) 


L 


the 

no 

and 

whei 

the 

chatt 

and 

grizz 

have 

are  t 

stran 


NORTH  AIUiilCAK  INDIANS. 


105 


It  is  as  much  as  he  can  ivell  do  to  "  look  out  for  his  acalp,^* 
and  "  for  aomething  to  eat."  Impressions,  however,  of  the 
most  vivid  kind,  are  rapidly  and  indelibly  made  by  the 
ileeting  incidents  of  savage  life ;  and  for  the  mind  that  can 
ruminate  upon  them  with  pleasure,  there  are  abundant 
materials  clinging  to  it  for  its  endless  entertainment  in 
driving  the  quill  when  he  gets  back.  The  mind  susceptible 
of  such  impressions  catches  volumes  of  incidents  which  are 
easy  to  write — it  is  but  to  unfold  a  web  which  the  fasci- 
nations of  this  shorn  country  and  its  allurements  have  spun 
over  the  soul — it  is  but  to  paint  the  splendid  panorama  of 
a  world  entirely  different  from  anything  seen  or  painted 
before ;  with  its  thousands  of  miles,  and  tens  of  thousands 
of  grassy  hills  and  dales,  where  nought  but  silence  reigns, 
und  where  the  soul  of  a  contemplative  mould  is  seemingly 
lifted  up  to  its  Creator.  What  man  in  the  world,  I  would 
psk,  ever  ascended  to  the  pinnacle  of  one  of  Missouri's 
green-carpeted  bluffs,  a  thousand  miles  severed  from  his 
own  familiar  land,  and  giddily  gazed  over  the  interminable 
and  boundless  ocean  of  grass-covered  hills  and  valleys 
which  lie  beneath  him,  where  the  gloom  of  silence  is 
complete — where  not  even  the  voice  of  the  sparrow  or 
cricket  is  heard — without  feeling  a  sweet  melancholy  come 
over  him,  which  seemed  to  drown  his  sense  of  everything 
beneath  and  on  a  level  with  him  ? 

It  is  but  to  paint  a  vast  country  of  green  field,  where 
the  men  are  all  red — where  meat  is  the  staff  of  life — where 
no  laws,  but  those  of  Jumor,  are  known — w^here  the  oak 
and  the  pine  give  way  to  the  c<  ton-wood  and  peccan — 
where  the  buffaloes  range,  the  elk,  mountain-sheep,  and 
the  fleet-bounaing  antelope — where  the  magpie  and 
chattering  parroquettes  supply  the  place  of  the  red-breast 
and  the  blue-bird — where  wolves  are  white  and  bears 
grizzly — where  pheasants  are  hens  of  the  prairie,  and  frogs 
have  horns ! — where  the  rivers  are  yellow,  and  white  men 
are  turned  savages  in  looks.  Through  the  whole  of  this 
strange  land  the  dogs  are  all  wolves — women  all  slaves— 


if 


106 


LETTEBS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


men  all  lords.  The  snn  and  rats  alone  (of  all  the  list  of  old 
acquaintance),  could  be  recognized  in  this  country  of 
strange  metamorphose.  The  former  shed  everywhere  his 
familiar  rays;  and  Monsr.  Eatapon  was  hailed  as  an  old 
acquaintance,  which  it  gave  me  pleasure  to  meet ;  though 
he  had  grown  a  little  more  savage  in  his  looks. 

In  traversing  the  immense  regions  of  the  classic  "West, 
the  mind  of  a  philanthropist  is  filled  to  the  brim  with 
feelings  of  admiration ;  but  to  reach  this  country,  one  is 
obliged  to  descend  from  the  light  and  glow  of  civilized 
atmosphere,  through  the  different  grades  of  civilization, 
which  gradually  sink  to  the  most  deplorable  condition 
along  the  extreme  frontier;  thence  through  the  most 
pitiable  misery  and  wretchedness  of  savage  degradation ; 
where  the  genius  of  natural  liberty  and  independence  have 
been  blasted  and  destroyed  by  the  contaminating  vices  and 
dissipations  introduced  by  the  immoral  part  of  civilized 
socety.  Through  this  dark  and  sunken  vale  of  wretched- 
ness one  hurries,  as  through  a  pestilence,  until  he  gradually 
rises  again  into  the  proud  and  chivalrous  pale  of  savage 
society,  in  its  state  of  original  nature,  beyond  the  reach  of 
civilized  contamination ;  here  he  finds  much  to  fix  his 
enthusiasm  upon,  and  much  to  admire.  Even  here,  the 
predominant  passions  of  the  savage  breast,  of  ferocity  and 
cruelty,  are  often  found ;  yet  restrained,  and  frequently 
suMued,  by  the  noblest  traits  of  honor  and  magnanimity, 
— a  race  of  men  who  live  and  enjoy  life  and  its  luxuries, 
and  practice  its  virtues,  very  far  beyond  the  usual 
estimation  of  the  world,  who  are  apt  to  judge  the  savage 
and  his  virtues  from  the  poor,  degraded,  and  humbled 
specimens  which  alone  can  be  seen  along  our  frontiers. 
From  the  first  settlements  of  our  Atlantic  coast  to  the 
present  day,  the  bane  of  this  blasting  frontier  has  regularly 
crowded  upon  them,  from  the  northern  to  the  southern 
extremities  of  our  country ;  and,  like  the  fire  in  a  prairie, 
which  destroys  everything  where  it  passes,  it  has  blasted 
and  sunk  them,  aud  all  but  their  names,  into  oblivion, 


on, 


NORTH  AUEBICAN  INDIANS. 


107 


wherever  it  has  travelled.  It  is  to  this  tainted  class  alone 
that  the  epithet  of  "  poor,  naked,  and  drunken  savage," 
can  be,  with  propriety,  applied ;  for  all  those  numerous 
tribes  which  I  have  visited,  and  are  yet  uncorrupted  by 
the  vices  of  civilized  acquaintance,  are  well  clad,  in  many 
instances  cleanly,  and  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  life  and  its 
luxuries.  It  is  for  the  character  and  preservation  of  these 
noble  fellows  that  I  am  an  enthusiast ;  and  it  is  for  these 
uncontaminated  people  that  I  Would  be  willing  to  devote 
the  energies  of  my  life.  It  is  a  sad  and  melancholy  truth 
to  contemplate,  that  all  the  numerous  tribes  who  inhabited 
our  vast  Atlantic  States  ?Mve  not  "  fled  to  the  West ;" — 
that  they  are  not  to  be  found  here — that  they  have  been 
blasted  by  the  fire  which  has  passed  over  them — have 
sunk  into  their  graves,  and  everything  but  their  names 
travelled  into  oblivion. 

The  distinctive  character  of  all  these  Western  Indians,  as 
well  as  their  traditions  relative  to  their  ancient  locations, 
prove  beyond  a  doubt,  that  they  have  been  for  a  very  long 
time  located  on  the  soil  which  they  now  possess;  and 
in  most  respects,  distinct  and  unlike  those  nations  who 
formerly  inhabited  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  who  (according 
to  the  erroneous  opinion  of  a  great  part  of  the  world),  have 
fled  to  the  West. 

It  is  for  these  inofiensive  and  unoffending  people,  yet 
unvisited  by  the  vices  of  civilized  society,  that  I  would 
proclaim  to  the  world,  that  it  is  time,  for  the  honor  of  our 
country — ^for  the  honor  of  every  citizen  of  the  republic — 
and  for  the  sake  of  humanity,  that  our  government  should 
raise  her  strong  arm  to  save  the  remainder  of  them  from 
the  pestilence  which  is  rapidly  advancing  upon  them.  We 
have  gotten  from  them  territory  enough,  and  the  country 
which  they  now  inhabit  is  most  of  it  too  barren  of  timber 
for  the  use  of  civilized  man ;  it  affords  them,  however,  the 
means  and  luxuries  of  savage  life;  and  it  is  to  be  hoped 
that  our  government  will  not  acquiesce  in  the  continued 
wilful  destruction  of  these  happy  people. 


108 


LKTT£RS  AND  NOTES  ON  THX 


My  heart  has  sometimes  almost  bled  with  pity  for  them, 
while  amongst  them  and  witnessing  their  innocent  amuse- 
ments, as  I  have  contemplated  the  inevitable  bane  that  was 
rapidly  advancing  upon  them;  without  that  check  from 
the  protecting  ann  of  government,  and  which  alone  could 
shield  them  from  destruction. 

"What  degree  of  happiness  these  sons  of  Nature  may 
attain  to  in  the  world,  in  their  own  way;  or  in  what  pro- 
portion they  may  relish  the  pleasures  of  life,  compared  to 
the  sum  of  happiness  belonging  to  civilized  society,  has 
long  been  a  subject  of  much  doubt,  and  one  which  I  cannot 
undertake  to  decide  at  this  time.  I  would  say  thus  much, 
however,  that  if  the  thirst  for  knowledge  has  entailed 
everlasting  miseries  on  mankind  from  the  beginning  of  the 
world;  if  refined  and  intellectual  pains  increase  in  pro- 
portion to  our  intellectual  pleasures,  I  do  not  see  that  we 
gain  much  advantage  over  them  on  that  score;  and  judging 
from  the  full-toned  enjoyment  which  beams  from  their 
happy  faces,  I  should  give  it  as  my  opinion,  that  their  lives 
were  much  more  happy  than  ours;  that  is,  if  the  word 
happiness  is  properly  applied  to  the  enjoyments  of  those 
who  have  not  experienced  the  light  of  the  Christian  religion. 
I  have  long  looked  with  the  eye  of  a  critic,  into  the  jovial 
faces  of  these  sons  of  the  forest,  unfurrowed  with  cares — 
where  the  agonizing  feeling  of  poverty  had  never  stamped 
distress  upon  the  brow.  I  have  watched  the  bold,  intrepid 
step — the  proud,  yet  dignified  deportment  of  Nature's  man, 
in  fearless  freedom,  with  a  soul  unalloyed  by  mercenary 
lusts,  too  great  to  yield  to  laws  or  power  except  from  God. 
As  these  independent  fellows  are  all  joint-tenants  of  the 
soil,  tbey  are  all  rich,  and  none  of  the  steepings  of  com- 
parative poverty  can  strangle  their  just  claims  to  renown. 
Who  (I  would  ask)  can  look  without  admiring,  into  a 
society  where  peace  and  harmony  prevail — where  virtue  is 
cherished — where  rights  are  protected,  and  wrongs  are 
redressed — with  no  laws,  but  the  laws  of  honor,  which  are 
the  supreme  laws  of  their  land     Trust  the  boasted  virtues 


KOBTH  AMEBIOAK  IKDIAKS. 


109 


of  civilized  aooiety  for  a  while,  vritli  all  its  intellectual 
refinements,  to  such  a  tribunal,  and  then  write  down  the 
degradation  of  the  "  lawless  savage,"  and  our  transcendent 
virtues. 

As  these  people  have  no  laws,  the  sovereign  right  of 
summary  redress  lies  in  the  breast  of  the  party  (or  friends 
of  the  party)  aggrieved ;  and  infinitely  more  dreaded  is  the 
certainty  of  cruel  revenge  from  the  licensed  hands  of  an 
offended  savage,  than  the  slow  and  uncertain  vengeance  of 
the  law. 

If  you  think  me  an  enthttsiast,  be  it  so ;  for  I  deny  it  not. 
It  has  ever  been  the  predominant  passion  of  my  soul  to 
seek  Nature's  wildest  haunts,  and  give  my  hand  to  nature's 
men.  Legends  of  these,  and  visits  to  those,  filled  the  earliest 
page  of  my  juvenile  impressions. 

The  tablet  has  stood,  and  I  am  an  enthusiast  for  God's 
works  as  He  left  them.  ^ 

The  sad  tale  of  my  native  "valley,"*  has  been  beautifully 
sung;  and  from  the  flight  of  "Gertrude's"  soul,  my  young 
imagination  closely  traced  the  savage  to  his  deep  retreats, 
and  gazed  upon  him  in  dreadful  horror,  until  pity  pleaded, 
and  admiration  worked  a  charm. 

A  journey  of  four  thousand  miles  from  the  Atlantic 
shore,  regularly  receding  from  the  centre  of  civilized 
society  to  the  extreme  wilderness  of  Nature's  original  work, 
and  back  again,  opens  a  book  for  many  an  interesting  tale 
to  be  sketched ;  and  the  mind  which  lives,  but  to  relish  the 
works  of  Nature,  reaps  a  reward  on  such  a  tour  of  a  much 
higher  order  than  can  arise  from  the  selfish  expectations  of 
pecuniary  emolument.  Notwithstanding  all  that  has  been 
written  and  said,  there  is  scarcely  any  subject  on  which  the 
knomng  people  of  the  East,  are  yet  less  informed  and 
instructed  than  on  the  character  and  amusements  of  the 
West:  by  this  I  mean  the  "Far  West;" — the  country 
whose  fascinations  spread  a  charm  ovev  the  mind  almost 

*  Wyoming. 


110 


LKTTBRS  AND  NOTES  ON  THK 


dangerous  to  civilized  pursuits.  Few  people  even  know 
the  true  definition  of  the  term  "West;"  and  where  is  its 
location?— phantom-like  it  flies  before  us  as  we  travel,  and 
on  our  way  is  continually  gilded,  before  us,  as  we  approach 
the  setting  sun. 

In  the  commenceraent  of  my  Tour,  several  of  my 
travelling  companions  from  the  city  of  New  York,  found 
themselves  at  a  frightful  distance  to  the  West,  when  we 
arrived  at  Niagara  Falls ;  and  hastened  back  to  amuse  their 
friends  with  tales  and  scenes  of  the  West.  At  Buffalo  a 
steamboat  was  landing  with  four  hundred  passengers,  and 
twelve  days  out — "Where  from?"  "From  the  West."  In 
the  rich  State  of  Ohio,  hundreds  were  selling  their  farms 
and  going — to  the  West.  In  the  beautiful  city  of  Cin- 
cinnati, people  said  to  me,  "Our  town  has  passed  the  days 
of  its  most  rapid  growth,  it  is  not  far  enough  West." — In 
St.  Louis,  fourteen  hundred  miles  west  of  New  York,  my 
landlady  assured  me  that  I  would  be  pleased  with  her 
boarders,  for  they  were  nearly  all  merchants  from  the 
"West,"  I  there  asked, — "Whence  come  those  steam- 
boats, laden  vnth  pork,  honey,  hides,  &o.  ?" 

From  the  West 

Whence  those  ponderous  bars  of  silver,  which  those  men 
have  been  for  hours  shouldering  and  putting  on  board 
that  boat? 

They  come  from  Santa  F^,  from  the  West 

Where  goes  this  steam-boat  so  richly  laden  with  dry 
goods,  steamengines,  &c.  ? 

She  goes  to  Jefferson  city. 

Jefferson  city  ? — Where  is  that  ? 

Far  to  the  West 

And  where  goes  that  boat  laden  down  to  her  gunnels, 
the  Yellow  Stone  ? 

She  goes  still  farther  to  the  West—"  Then,"  said  I,  "  I'll 
go  to  the  West." 

I  went  on  the  Yellow  Stone —        ♦  *  ♦ 

*  *  *  *  Two  thousand  miles  on 


KOBTH  AMKRIOAK  IKDIASS. 


Ill 


her,  and  we  were  at  the  mouth  of  Yellow  Stone  river — at 
the  West.  "What  1  invoices,  bills  of  lading,  &o.,  a  wholeaalo 
establishment  so  far  to  the  West  I  And  those  strange 
looking,  long- haired  gentlemen,  who  have  just  arrived,  and 
are  relating  the  adventures  of  thoir  long  and  tedious 
journey.    Who  are  they  ? 

Oh !  they  are  some  of  our  merchants  just  arrived  from 
the  West. 

And  that  keel-boat,  that  Mackinaw-boat,  and  that 
formidable  caravan,  all  of  which  are  richly  laden  with 
goods?  .1  . 

These,  Sir,  are  outfits  starting  for  the  West. 

Going  to  the  West,  ha?  "Then,"  said  I,  "Til  try  it 
again.    I  will  try  and  see  if  I  can  go  to  the  West." 

*  *  «  What,  a  Fort  here,  too?       , 

Oui,  Monsieur — oui.  Monsieur  (as  a  dauntless,  and  semi- 
5ar&an'an-looking,  jolly  fellow,  dashed  forth  in  advance  of 
his  party  on  his  wild  horse  to  meet  me.) 

What  distance  are  you  west  of  Yellow  Stone  here,  my 
good  fellow  ? 

Comment? 

What  distance  ? — (stop) — quel  distance? 

Parddn,  Monsieur,  je  ne  sais  pas.  Monsieur. 

No  parlez  vous  1' Anglais  ? 

Non,  Monsr.  I  speaks  de  French  and  de  Americaine ; 
mais  je  ne  parle  pas  1' Anglais, 

'*  Well  then,  my  good  fellow,  I  will  speak  English,  and 
you  may  speak  Americaine." 

Parddn,  pard(5n,  Monsieur. 

Well,  then  we  will  both  speak  Americaine. 

Val,  sare,  je  suis  bien  content,  pour  for  I  see  dat  you 
speaks  putty  coot  Americaine. 

What  may  I  call  your  name  ? 

BaHiste,  Monsieur. 

What  Indians  are  those  so  splendidly  dressed,  and  with 
such  fine  horses,  encamped  on  the  plain  yonder? 

lis  aont  Corbeauz. 


(* 


**) 


m 


LXTTEBS  AMD  ITOTBS  ON  THK 


1    'I     it 


17'  iir 


f.    ■, 


;,'!  ' 


Crows,  ha?       ' 
Yes,  sare,  Monsieur. 
We  are  then  in  the  Crow  country? 
No  ,  Monsieur,  not  putty  ^xact ;  we  are  in  deooontrae  of 
de  dam  Pieds  noirs. 
Blackfeet,  ha?  ".  v-  ''     , 

Qui. 

What  blue  mountain  is  that  whioh  we  see  in  the  distance 
yonder  ? 
Ha,  quel  Montaigne  ?  cela  est  la  Montaigne  du  (parddn). 
Du  Kochers,  I  suppose  ? 

Qui,  Monsieur,  de  Rock  Montaigne.  j 

You  live  here,  I  suppose  ?  ■  i 

Non,  Monsieur,  I  comes  fair  from  de  West. 
What,  from  the  West!    Where  under  the  heavens  is 
that?        :-    '»-■[■  '■ :,  ry 

Wat,  diable  I  de  West  ?  well  you  shall  see.  Monsieur,  he 
is  putty  fair  o£f,  siippose.  Monsieur  Pierre  Chouteau  can 
give  you  de  historic  de  ma  vie — il  bien  sait  que  je  prends 
les  castors,  very  fair  in  de  West. 

You  carry  goods,  I  suppose,  to  trade  with  the  Snake 
Indians  beyond  the  mountains,  and  trap  beaver  also  ?     ' 
Oui,  Monsieur. 

Do  you  see  anything  of  the  "Flat-heads"  in  your 
country  ? 
Non,  Monsieur,  ils  demeurent  very,  w»7  fair  to  de  West. 
Well,  Ba'tiste,  I'll  lay  my  course  back  again  for  the 
present,  and  at  some  future  period,  endeavor  to  go  to  the 
"  West."  But  you  say  you  trade  with  the  Indians  and 
trap  beavers ;  you  are  in  the  employment  of  the  American 
Fur  Company,  I  suppose. 

Non,  Monsieur,  not  quite  ^xact;  mais,  siippose,  I  am 
"/ree  trappare"  free,  Monsr.,  free. 

Free  trapper,  what's  that?     I  don't  understand  you, 
Ba'tiste. 

Well,  Monsr.  stippose  he  is  easy  pour  understand — you 
shall  kuow  all.    In  d')  first  place,  I  am  enlist  for  tree  year  in 


Fur  Cc 
Well 

trapper 
Oui, 
8 


— I 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS 


113 


de  Fur  Comp  in  St.  Louis — for  bountd — pour  bountd, 
eighty  doUare  (understand,  ha  ?)  den  I  am  go  for  wages,  et 
I  ave  come  de  Missouri  up,  et  I  am  trap  castors  putty 
much  for  six  years,  you  see,  until  I  am  learn  very  much  ; 
and  den  you  see,  Monsr.  M'Kenzie  is  give  me  tree  horse — 
one  pour  ride,  et  two  pour  pack  (mais  he  is  not  buy,  him 
not  give,  he  is  lend),  and  he  is  lend  twelve  trap ;  and  I 
ave  make  stort  into  de  Rocky  Montaigne,  et  I  am  live  all 
dlone  on  do  leet  rivares  pour  prendre  les  castors.  Some- 
time six  months — sometime  five  months,  and  I  come  back 
to  Yel  Stone,  et  Monsr.  M'Kenzie  is  give  me  coot  price 
pour  all. 

So  Mr.  M'Kenzie  fits  you  out,  and  takes  your  beaver  of 
you  at  a  certain  price  ? 

Oui,  Monsr.,  oui. 

What  price  does  he  pay  you  for  your  beaver,  Ba'tiste  ? 

Ha  I  sfippose  one  dollare  pour  one  beavare. 

A  dollar  per  skin,  ah  ? 

Oui. 

"Well,  you  must  live  a  lonesome  and  hazardous  sort  of 
life ;  can  you  make  anything  by  it  ? 

Oh  1  oui,  Monsr.,  putty  coot,  mais  if  it  is  not  pour  for  de 
dam  rascalitfe  Riccaroe,  et  de  dam  Pieds  noirs,  de  Black- 
foot  Ingin,  I  am  make  very  much  monnair,  mais  (sacrfe,) 
I  am  rob — rob — rob  too  much ! 

What,  do  the  Blackfeet  rob  you  of  your  furs? 

Oui,  Monsr,,  rob,  sfippose,  five  time!  I  am  been  free 
trappare  seven  year,  et  I  am  rob  five  time — I  am  someting 
left  not  at  all — he  is  take  all ;  he  is  take  all  de  horse — he 
is  take  my  gun — he  is  take  all  my  clothes — he  is  takee 
de  castors — et  I  am  come  back  with  foot.  So  in  de  Fort, 
some  cloths  is  cost  putty  much  monnair,  et  some  whisky 
is  give  sixteen  dollares  pour  gall ;  so  you  see  I  am  owe  de 
Fur  Comp  six  hundred  dollare,  by  Gar  1 

Well,  Ba'tiste,  this  then  is  what  you  call  being  a  free 
trapper,  is  it  ? 

Oui,  Monr.,  "  free  trappare,"  free  I 
8 


114 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES. 


You  seem  to  bo  going  down  towards  the  Yellow  Stone, 
and  probably  have  been  out  on  a  trapping  excursion  ? 

Oui,  Monsr.,  o'est  vrai. 

Have  you  been  robbed  this  time,  Ba'tiste? 

Oui,  Monsr.,  by  de  dam  Pieds  noirs — I  am  loose  much; 

I  am  loose  all— very  all eh  bien — pour  lo  dernier — 

e'est  le  dernier  fois,  Monsr.    I  am  go  to  Yel  Stone — I  am 
go  le  Missouri  down,  I  am  go  to  St.  Louis. 

Well,  Ba'tiste,  I  am  to  figure  about  in  this  part  of  the 
world  a  few  weeks  longer,  and  then  I  shall  descend  the 
Missouri  from  the  mouth  of  Yellow  Stone,  to  St.  Louis; 
and  I  should  like  exceedingly  to  employ  just  such  a  man 
as  you  are  as  a  voyageur  with  mo — I  will  give  you  good 
wages,  and  pay  all  your  expenses;  what  say  you? 

Avec  tout  men  cour,  Monsr.,  remcrcie,  remercie. 

It's  a  bargain  then,  Ba'tiste ;  I  will  see  you  at  the  mouth 
of  Yellow  Stone. 

Oui,  Monsr.,  in  de  Yel  Stone,  bon  soir,  bon  soir,  Monsr. 

But    stop,   Ba'tiste,  you    told    me    those   were  Crowa 
encamped  yonder. 

Oui,  Monsieur,  oui,  des  Corbeaux.  -  •    • 

And  I  suppose  you  are  their  interpreter?  ,    ,    ' 

Non,  Monsieur. 

But  you  speak  the  Crow  language  ?       i  ; 

Oui,  Monsieur. 

Well  then,  turn  about ;  I  am  going  to  pay  them  a  visit, 
and  you  can  render  me  a  service. — Bien,  Monsieur,  aliens. 


Soon  | 
dated  at 
river  fo| 
resided 
terraneol 


BOCKT  MOCHTAIM  GOAT. 


LETTER  No.  X. 


MANDAN  VILLAGE,  UrPER  MISSOURI. 

Soon  after  the  writing  of  my  last  Letter,  which  waa 
dated  at  the  Mouth  of  Yellow  Stone,  I  embarked  on  the 
river  for  this  place,  where  I  landed  safely;  and  have 
resided  for  a  couple  of  weeks,  a  guest  in  this  almost  sub- 
terraneous city — the  strangest  place  in  the  world ;  where 

(116) 


J»    'v'^W> 


f    f*,-'; 


118 


LETTERS  AND  N'OTES  ON  THE 


one  sees  in  the  most  rapid  succession,  scenes  wliich  force 
him  to  mirth — to  pity  and  compassion— to  admiration — 
disgust— to  fear  and  astonishment.  But  before  I  proceed 
to  reveal  them,  I  must  give  you  a  brief  sketch  of  my 
voyage  down  the  river  from  the  Mouth  of  the  Yellow 
Stone  river  to  this  place,  a  distance  of  two  hundred  miles 
and  which  my  little  note- book  says,  was  performed  some- 
what in  the  following  manner : 

When  I  had  completed  my  rambles  and  my  sketches  in 
those  regions,  and  Ba'tiste  and  Bogard  had  taken  their  last 
spree,  and  fought  their  last  battles,  and  forgotten  them  in 
the  final  and  affectionate  embrace  and  farewell  (all  of 
which  are  habitual  with  these  game-fellows,  when  settling 
up  their  long-standing  accounts  with  their  fellow-trappers 
of  the  mountain  streams;)  and  after  Mr.  M'Kenzie  had 
procured  for  me  a  snug  little  craft,  that  was  to  waft  us 
down  the  mighty  torrent;  we  launched  off  one  fine 
morning,  taking  our  leave  of  the  Fort,  and  the  friends 
within  it ;  and  also,  for  ever,  of  the  beautiful  green  fields, 
and  hills,  and  dales,  and  prairie  bluffs,  that  encompa-ss  the 
enchanting  shores  of  the  Yellow  Stone. 

Our  canoe,  which  was  made  of  green  timber,  was  heavy 
and  awkward;  but  our  course  being  with  the  current, 
promised  us  a  fair  and  successful  voyage.  Ammunition 
was  laid  in  in  abundance — a  good  stock  of  dried  buffalo 
tongues — a  dozen  or  two  of  beavers'  tails — and  a  good 
supply  of  pemioan.  Bogard  and  Ba'tisto  occupied  tlio 
middle  and  bow,  with  their  paddles  in  tiicir  hands ;  and  I 
took  my  seat  in  the  stern  of  the  boat,  at  the  steering  oar. 
Our  larder  was  as  I  have  said ;  and  added  to  tliat,  some 
few  pounds  of  fresh  buffalo  meat. 

Besides  which,  and  ourselves,  our  little  craft  carried 
several  packs  of  Indian  dresses  and  other  articles,  which  I 
liad  purchasiid  of  the  Indians;  and  also  my  canvass  and 
easel,  and  our  culinary  articles,  wliich  were  few  and 
simple;  consisting  of  three  tin  cups,  a  coffee-pot — one 
plate — a  frying-pan — and  a  tin  kettle. 


Thug 
rate  und 
friends, 
them,  an 
two  tho 
save  tho 
roaming 
At  the 
handily  e 
who  had 
and  receiA 

In  the 

(the  pigeo 

customs  ol 

any  appeaj 

he  had  wit 

Washingto 

Many  We 

crowding  a 

which  he  w 

His  beat 

had  been  sc 

his  appearaj 

His  keg 
charms — hij 
of  no  earth! 
place,  and  t| 
ful  pair  of  l( 
converted  ir 
umbrella  thj 
kept  spreac 
seemed  to  bJ 
tribe,  to  be  J 
Of  the  vf 
following  mi 
river.    The 
^onr,  throm 


NORTH  AMKKXCAN  INDIANS. 


117 


Thus  fitted  out  and  embp  "ced,  we  swept  oflF  at  a  ragid 
rate  under  the  shouts  of  the  ....vages,  and  the  cheers  of  our 
friends,  who  lined  the  banks  as  we  gradually  lost  sight  of 
them,  and  turned  our  eyes  towards  St,  Louis,  which  was 
two  thousand  miles  below  us,  with  nought  intervening, 
saA'^e  the  wide-spread  and  wild  regions,  inhabited  by  the 
roaming  savage. 

At  the  end  of  our  first  day's  journey,  we  found  ourselves 
handily  encamping  with  several  thousand  Assinneboins, 
who  had  pitched  their  tents  upon  the  bank  of  the  river, 
and  received  us  with  every  mark  of  esteem  and  friendship. 

In  the  midst  of  this  group,  was  my  friend  Wi-jun-jon 
(the  pigeon's  egg  head),  still  lecturing  on  the  manners  and 
customs  of  the  "  pale  faces."  Continuing  to  relate  without 
any  appearance  of  exhaustion,  the  marvellous  scenes  which 
he  had  witnessed  amongst  the  white  people,  on  his  tour  to 
Washington  City. 

Many  were  the  gazers  who  seemed  to  be  the  whole  timo 
crowding  around  him,  to  hear  his  recitals ;  and  the  plight 
which  he  was  in,  rendered  his  appearance  quite  ridiculous. 

His  beautiful  military  dress,  of  which  I  before  spoke, 
had  been  so  shockingly  tattered  and  metamorphosed,  that 
his  appearance  was  truly  laughable. 

His  keg  of  whisky  had  dealt  out  to  his  friends  all  its 
charms — his  frock-coat,  which  his  wife  had  thought  was 
of  no  earthly  use  below  the  waist,  had  been  cut  of  at  that 
place,  and  the  nether  half  of  it  supplied  her  with  a  beauti- 
ful pair  of  leggings ;  and  his  silver-laced  hat-baud  had  been 
converted  into  a  splendid  pair  of  garters  for  the  same.  His 
umbrella  the  poor  fellow  still  affectionately  held  on  to,  and 
kept  spread  at  all  times.  As  I  before  said,  his  theme 
seemed  to  be  exhaustless,  and  he,  in  the  estimation  of  his 
tribe,  to  be  an  unexampled  liar.  "^ 

Of  the  village  of  Assinneboins  we  took  leave  on  the 
folh^wing  morning,  and  rapidly  made  our  way  down  the 
river.  The  rate  of  the  current  being  four  or  five  miles  per 
hour,  through  oi  c  continued  series  of  picturesque  grass- 


i 


tt 


I   '  *.< 


118 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  TUB 


covered  bluffs  and  knolls,  which  everywhere  had  the 
appearance  of  an  old  and  highly  cultivated  country,  with 
houses  and  fences  removed. 

There  is,  much  of  the  way,  on  one  side  or  the  other,  a 
bold  and  abrupt  precipice  of  three  or  four  hundred  feet  in 
elevation,  presenting  itself  in  an  exceedingly  rough  and 
picturesque  form,  to  the  shore  of  the  river;  sloping  down 
from  the  summit  level  of  the  prairies  above,  which  sweep 
off  from  the  brink  of  the  precipice,  almost  level,  to  an 
unknown  distance. 

It  is  along  the  rugged  and  wild  fronts  of  these  cliflfe,  whose 
sides  are  generally  formed  of  hard  clay,  that  the  raountain- 
sheep  dwell,  and  are  often  discovered  in  great  numbers. 
Their  habits  are  much  like  those  of  the  goat;  and  iu 
every  respect  they  are  like  that  animal,  except  in  the 
horns,  which  resemble  those  of  the  ram  sometimes  making 
two  entire  circles  in  their  coil ;  and  at  the  roots,  each  horn 
is,  in  some  instances,  from  five  to  six  inches  in  breadth. 

On  the  second  day  of  our  voyage  we  discovered  a  num- 
ber of  these  animals  skipping  along  the  sides  of  the 
precipice,  always  keeping  about  equi-distant  between  tbo 
top  and  bottom  of  the  ledge ;  leaping  and  vaulting  in  the 
most  extraordinary  manner  from  point  to  point,  and 
seeming  to  cling  actually,  to  the  sides  of  the  wall,  where 
neither  man  nor  beast  could  possibly  follow  them. 

We  landed  our  canoe,  and  entleavored  to  shoot  one  of 
these  sagacious  animals;  and  after  he  had  led  us  a  long  and 
fruitless  chase,  amongst  the  cliffs,  we  thought  we  had  fairly 
entrapped  him  in  such  a  way  as  to  be  sure  to  bring  him,  at 
last,  within  the  command  of  our  rifles,  when  he  suddenly 
bounded  from  his  narrow  foot-liold  in  the  ledge,  and 
tumbled  down  a  distance  of  more  tlian  a  hundred  feet, 
amongst  the  fragments  of  rocks  and  clay,  where  I  thought 
we  must  certainly  find  his  carcass  without  further  trouble; 
when,  to  my  great  surprise,  I  saw  him  bounding  ofi",  and 
he  was  almost  instantly  out  of  my  si^rlit. 

Bogurd,  who  was  an  old  hunter,  and  well  ac<iuainted  with 


these  c 

game  ii 

when  t 

their  fo 

a  great 

the  8oIi( 

Being 

away  th 

ragged  c 

labors  v 

This  nol 

regions,  ■ 

used  as  t 

and  dress 

the  Indiai 

the  count] 

the  bird,  j 

quills.     I 

but  I  am  £ 

nor  is  it  t 

near  to  th 

often  been 

of  which 

the  other  [ 

invariably 

its  quills. 

Our  da_y 
scene;  oce 
and,  in  sinr 
wind  of  us 
to  our  can 
Just  before 
and  in  a  fe 
down  from 
our  larder, 
and   travel 
beautiful  lit 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


119 


these  creatures,  shouldered  his  rifle,  and  said  to  me — "the 
game  is  up ;  and  now  you  see  the  use  of  those  big  horns ; 
when  they  fall  by  accident,  or  find  it  necessary  to  quit 
their  foot-hold  in  the  crevice,  they  fall  upon  their  head  at 
a  great  distance  unharmed,  even  though  it  should  be  on 
the  solid  sock." 

Being  on  shore,  and  our  canoe  landed  secure,  we  whiled 
away  the  greater  part  of  this  day  amongst  the  wild  and 
ragged  cliffs,  into  which  we  had  entered ;  and  a  part  of  our 
labors  were  vainly  spent  in  the  pursuit  of  a  war-eagle. 
This  noble  bird  is  the  one  which  the  Indians  in  these 
regions,  value  so  highly  for  their  tail  feathers,  which  are 
used  as  the  most  valued  plumes  for  decorating  the  heads 
and  dresses  of  their  warriors.  It  is  a  beautiful  bird,  and, 
the  Indians  tell  me,  conquers  all  other  varieties  of  eagles  in 
the  country;  from  which  circumstance,  the  Indians  respect 
the  bird,  and  hold  it  in  the  highest  esteem,  and  value  its 
quills.  I  am  unable  to  say  to  what  variety  it  belongs; 
but  I  am  sure  it  is  not  to  be  seen  in  any  of  our  museums ; 
nor  is  it  to  be  found  in  America  (I  think),  until  one  gets 
near  to  the  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  This  bird  has 
often  been  called  the  calumet  eagle  and  war-eagle ;  the  last 
of  which  appellations  I  have  already  accounted  for;  and 
the  other  has  arisen  from  the  fact,  that  the  Indians  almost 
invariably  ornament  the  calumets  or  pipes  of  peace  with 
its  quills. 

Our  day's  loitering  brought  us  through  many  a  wild 
scene ;  occasionally  across  the  tracks  of  the  grizzly  bear, 
and,  in  sight  merely  of  a  band  of  buffaloes ;  "  which  got  the 
wind  of  us,"  and  were  out  of  the  way,  leaving  us  to  return 
to  our  canoe  at  night,  with  a  mere  speck  of  good  luck. 
Just  before  we  reached  the  river,  I  heard  the  crack  of  a  rifle, 
and  in  a  few  moments  Bogard  came  in  sight,  and  threw 
down  from  his  shoulders  a  fine  antelope ;  which  added  to 
our  larder,  and  we  were  ready  to  proceed.  We  embarked 
and  travelled  until  nightfall,  wlicn  we  cncanii)ed  on  n 
beautiful  little  prairie  at  the  base  of  a  series  of  grass-covored 


j%.i^.  ■>" 


5  nK*n 


1  '  fww^m^ 


1    TOrW« 


,««: 


120 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


bluffs ;  and  the  next  morning  cooked  our  breakfast  and  eat 
it,  and  rowed  on  until  late  in  the  afternoon;  when  we 
stopped  at  the  base  of  some  huge  clay  bluffd,  forming  one 
of  the  most  curious  and  romantic  scenes  imaginable.  At 
this  spot  the  river  expands  itself  into  the  appearance  some- 
what of  a  beautiful  lake ;  and  in  the  midst  of  it,  and  on 
and  about  its  sand-bars,  floated  and  stood,  hundreds  and 
thousands  of  white  swans  and  pelicans. 

Thouo^h  the  scene  in  front  of  our  encampment  at  this 
place  was  placid  and  beautiful ;  with  its  flowing  water — 
its  wild  fowl — and  its  almost  endless  variety  of  gracefully 
sloping  hills  and  green  prairies  in  the  distance ;  yet  it  was 
not  less  wild  and  picturesque  in  our  rear,  where  the 
rugged  and  vari(;us  colored  blufl's  were  grouped  in  all  the 
wildest  fancies  and  rudeness  of  Nature's  accidental  varieties. 
The  whole  country  behind  us  seemed  to  have  been  dug 
and  thrown  up  into  huge  piles,  as  if  some  giant  mason  had 
been  there  mixing  his  mortar  and  paints,  and  throwing 
together  his  rude  models  for  some  sublime  structure  of  a 
colossal  city; — with  its  walls — its  domes — its  ramparts — 
its  huge  porticoes  and  galleries — its  castles — its  fosses  and 
•litches; — and  in  the  midst  of  his  progress,  he  had 
abandoned  his  works  to  the  destroying  hand  of  time, 
which  had  already  done  much  to  tumble  them  down,  and 
deface  their  noble  structure;  by  jostling  them  together, 
with  all  their  vivid  colors,  into  an  unsystematic  and 
unintelligible  mass  of  sublime  ruins. 

T(j  this  group  of  clay  blufl&,  which  line  the  river  for 
many  miles  in  distance,  the  voyageurs  have  very  appro- 
priately given  the  name  of  "  the  Brick-kilns ;"  owing  to 
their  rod  appearance,  which  may  bo  discovered  in  a  clear 
day  at  the  distance  of  many  leagues. 

By  the  action  of  water,  or  other  power,  the  country 
seems  to  have  been  graded  away  ;  leaving  occasionally  a 
solitary  mound  or  bluH',  rising  in  a  conical  form  to  the 
height  of  two  or  three  hundred  feet,  generally  pointed  or 
rounded  at  the  top,  and  in  some  places  grouped  together  in 


great 
the  to 
of  tho, 
mg  e.'' 
prairie 
isolatei 
action 
earth, 
they  ai 
A  si 
hundre( 
the  acti 
duced ; 
peculiar 
occurs ; 
mounds 
thing  of 
fifteen  fe 
layer  of 
formed  u 
This  £ 
traveller 
3onclusio 
extinguis 
The  sic 
strata  of 
down  by 
and  the 
crumbling 
thence, 
water  wh 
— carried 
thousands 
surface,  an 
Jilace  to  tl 
The  up 
red;  and 


It 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


121 


great  numbers ;  some  of  which  having  a  tabular  surface  on 
the  top,  and  co^  ered  with  a  green  turf.  This  fact  (as  are  all 
of  those  which  are  horizontal  on  their  tops,  and  correspond- 
ing exactly  with  the  summit  level  of  the  wide-spreading 
prairies  in  the  distance)  clearly  shows,  that  their  present 
isolated  and  rounded  forms  have  been  produced  by  the 
action  of  waters ;  which  have  carried  away  the  intervening 
earth,  and  lefl  them  in  the  picturesque  shapes  in  which 
they  are  now  seen. 

A  similar  formation  (or  deformation)  may  be  seen  in 
hundreds  of  places  on  the  shores  of  the  Missouri  river,  and 
the  actual  progress  of  the  operation  by  which  it  is  pro- 
duced; leaving  yet  for  the  singularity  of  this  place,  the 
peculiar  feature,  that  nowhere  else  (to  my  knowledge) 
occurs ;  that  the  superstratum,  forming  the  tops  of  these 
mounds  (where  they  remain  high  enough  to  support  any- 
thing  of  the  original  surface)  is  composed,  for  the  depth  of 
fifteen  feet,  of  red  pumice  ;  terminating  at  its  bottom,  in  a 
layer  of  several  feet  of  sedimentary  deposit,  which  is 
formed  into  endless  conglomerates  of  basaltic  crystals. 

This  strange  feature  in  the  country  arrests  the  eye  of  a 
traveller  suddenly,  and  as  instantly  brings  him  to  the 
sonclusion,  that  he  stands  in  the  midst  of  the  ruins  of  an 
extinguished  volcano. 

The  sides  of  these  conical  bluflfo  (which  are  composed  of 
strata  of  different  colored  cla^s),  are  continually  washing 
down  by  the  effect  of  the  rains  and  melting  of  the  frost ; 
and  the  superincumbent  masses  of  pumice  and  basalt  are 
crumbling  off  and  falling  down  to  their  bases;  and  from 
thence,  in  vast  quantities,  by  the  force  of  the  gorges  of 
water  which  are  often  cutting  their  channels  between  them 
— carried  into  the  river,  which  is  close  by ;  and  wafted  for 
thousands  of  miles,  floating  as  light  as  a  cork  upon  its 
siirface,  and  lodging  in  every  pile  of  drift-wood  from  this 
place  to  tho  ocean. 

The  upper  part  of  this  layer  of  pumice  is  of  a  brilliant 
red ;  and  when  the  sun  is  shining  upon  it,  is  as  bright  and 


K^n 


-^-im 


I'   fk 


V      f 


' 

MI 

ff 

mm 

mm 

U 

^9|i 

1 

1 

1 

i 

1 


122 


LETTEBS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


vivid  as  vermilion.  It  is  porous  and  open,  and  its  specific 
gravity  but  trifling.  These  curious  bluffs  must  be  seen  as 
they  are  in  nature ;  or  else  in  a  painting,  where  their 
colore  a'-e  faithfully  given,  or  they  lose  their  picturesque 
beauty,  which  consists  in  the  variety  of  their  vivid  tints. 
The  strata  of  clay  are  alternating  from  red  to  yellow — white 
— brown  and  dark  blue ;  and  so  curiously  arranged,  as  to 
form  the  most  pleasing  and  singular  effects. 

During  the  day  that  I  loitered  about  this  strange  scene, 
I  left  my  men  stretched  upon  the  grass,  by  the  canoe ;  and 
taking  my  rifle  and  sketch-book  in  my  hand,  I  wandered 
and  clambered  through  the  rugged  defiles  between  the 
bluffs ;  passing  over  and  under  the  immense  blocks  of  the 
pumice,  that  had  fallen  to  their  bases;  determined,  if 
possible,  to  find  the  crater,  or  source,  from  whence  these 
strange  phenomena  had  sprung ;  but  after  clambering  and 
squeezing  about  for  .some  time,  I  unfortunately  came  upon 
the  enormous  tracks  of  a  grizzly  bear,  which,  apparently, 
was  travelling  in  the  same  direciion  (probably  for  a  very 
different  puriose)  but  a  few  moments  before  mo;  and  my 
ardor  for  exploring  was  instantly  so  coaled  down,  that  I 
hastily  retraced  my  steps,  and  was  satisfied  with  making 
my  drawings,  and  collecting  specimens  of  the  lava  and 
othei  '.ninerals  in  its  vicinity. 

After  strolling  about  during  the  day,  and  contemplating 
the  beauty  of  the  scenes  that  were  around  me,  while  I  sat 
upon  the  pinnacles  of  these  pumice-capped  mounds  ;  most 
of  which  time,  Bogard  and  Ba'tiste  laid  enjoying  the 
pleasure  of  a  "mountaineer's  nap" — we  met  together — took 
ovir  coffee  and  dried  bufliilo  tongues — .spread  our  bufl'alo 
robes  upr  i  tne  grass,  and  enjoyed  during  the  night  the 
luxury  of  sleep,  that  belongs  so  peculiarly  to  the  tired 
voyageur  in  these  realms  of  pure  air  and  dead  silence. 

In  the  morning,  and  before  sunrise,  as  usual,  Bogard, 
(who  was  a  Yankee,  and  a  "wide-awake-fellow,"  just 
retiring  from  a  ten  years'  siege  of  hunting  and  trapping  in 
the  Rocky  Mountains,)  thrust  his  head  out  from  under 


the  r 
gra3p< 
Ba'tisI 
muttei 
Bogan 
iron  s] 
turned 
called 
often  " 
dignity 
upon  u 
"^,"  a 
sketch 
fastened 
everyth 
been  wi 
and  Ind 
and  deli 
been  sci 
and  eve 
stake,  hi 
was  no  t 
secrets  o 
we  saw 
the  grou 
mattrass( 
choosing 
country 
bear ; " 
upon  the 
the  path 
terror  of 
size  of  ei 
Well- 
described 
defence, 
means  I 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


123 


the  robe,  rubbing  his  eyes  open,  and  exclaiming  as  he 
grasped  for  his  gun,  "By  dam,  look  at  old  Calel  will  you  I'* 
Ba'tiste,  who  was  more  fond  of  his  dreams,  snored  away, 
muttering  something  that  I  could  not  understand,  when 
Bogard  seized  him  with  a  grip,  that  instantly  shook  off  his 
iron  slumbers.  I  rose  at  the  same  time,  and  all  eyes  were 
turned  at  onc6  upon  Caleb  (as  the  grizzly  bear  is  familiarly 
called  by  the  trappers  in  the  Eocky  Mountains — or  more 
often  "Gale,"  for  brevity's  sake),  who  was  sitting  up  in  the 
dignity  and  fury  of  her  sex,  within  a  few  rods,  and  gazing 
upon  us,  with  her  two  little  cubs  at  her  side !  here  was  a 
'*^,"  and  a  subject  for  the  painter;  but  I  had  no  time  to 
sketch  it — I  turned  my  eyes  to  the  canoe  which  had  been 
fastened  at  the  shore  a  few  paces  from  us ;  and  saw  that 
everything  had  been  pawed  out  of  it,  and  all  eatables  had 
been  without  ceremony  devoured.  My  packages  of  dresses 
and  Indian  curiosities  had  been  drawn  out  upon  the  bank, 
and  deliberately  opened  and  inspected.  Every  thing  had 
been  scraped  and  pawed  out,  to  the  bottom  of  the  boat ; 
and  even  the  rawhide  thong,  with  which  it  was  tied  to  a 
stake,  had  been  chewed,  and  no  doubt  swallowed,  as  there 
was  no  trace  of  it  remaining.  Nor  was  this  peep  into  the 
secrets  of  our  luggage  enough  for  her  insatiable  curiosity — 
we  saw  by  the  prints  of  her  huge  paws,  that  were*  left  in 
the  ground,  that  she  had  been  perambulating  our  humble 
mattrasses,  smelling  at  our  toes  and  our  noses,  without 
choosing  to  molest  us;  verifying  a  trite  saying  of  the 
country,  "  That  man  lying  dowa  is  medicine  '  )  the  grizzly 
bear ; "  though  it  is  a  well-known  fact,  that  man  and  beast, 
upon  their  feet,  are  sure  to  be  attacked  when  they  cross 
the  path  of  this  grizzly  and  grim  monster,  which  is  the 
terror  of  all  this  country ;  often  growing  to  the  enormous 
size  of  eight  hundred  or  one  thousand  pounds. 

Well — whilst  we  sat  in  the  dilemma  which  I  have  just 
described,  each  one  was  hastily  preparing  his  weapons  for 
defence,  when  I  proposed  the  mode  of  attack ;  by  which 
means  I  was  in  hopes  to  destroy  her — capture  her  young 


4  11^ 


.!.-    \ 


!  i 

4r  -■" 


M^ 


1 


124 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


ones,  and  bring  her  skin  home  as  a  trophy.    My  plans, 
however,  entirely  failed,  though  we  were  all  well  armed ; 
for  Bogard  and  Ba'tiste  both  remonstrated  with  a  vehem- 
ence that  was  irresistible;  saying  that  the  standing  rule 
in  the  mountains  was  "  never  to  fight  Caleb,  except  in  self- 
defence."    I  was  almost  induced,  however,  to  attack  her 
alone,  with  my  rifle  in  hand,  and  a  pair  of  heavy  pistols ; 
with  a  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife  in  my  belt;   when 
Ba'tiste  suddenly  thrust  his  arm  over  my  shoulder  and 
pointing  in  another  direction,  exclaimed  in  an  emphatic 
tone,  "  Voila  1  voila  un  corps  de  reserve — Monsr.  Catline — 
voila  sa  mari  1  allons — allons  I  d^scendons  la  rividre,  toute 
de  suite!  toute  de  suite  1  Monsr.,"  to  which  Bogard  added, 
"  these  darned  animals  are  too  much  for  us,  and  we  had 
better  be  off';"  at  which  my  courage  cooled,  and  we  packed 
up  and  re-embarked  as  fast  as  possible ;  giving  each  one  of 
them  the  contents  of  our  rifles  as  we  drifted  off"  in  the 
current ;  which  brought  the  she-monster,  in  all  her  rage 
and  fury,  to  the  spot  where  we,  a  few  moments  before,  had 
passed  our  most  prudent  resolve. 

During  the  rest  of  this  day,  we  passed  on  rapidly,  gazing 
upon  and  admiring  the  beautiful  shores,  which  were  con- 
tinually changing,  from  the  high  and  ragged  cliffs,  to  the 
graceful  and  green  slopes  of  the  prairie  bluffs ;  and  then  to 
the  wide  expanded  meadows,  with  their  long  waving  grass, 
enamelled  with  myriads  of  wild  flowers. 

The  scene  was  one  of  enchantment  the  whole  way ;  our 
chief  conversation  was  about  grizzly  bears  and  hair's- 
breadth  escapes ;  of  the  histories  of  which  my  companions 
had  volumes  in  store. — Our  breakfast  was  a  late  one — 
cooked  and  eaten  about  five  in  the  afternoon ;  at  which 
time  our  demolished  iarder  was  luckily  replenished  by  the 
unerring  rifle  of  Bogard,  which  brought  down  a  fine  ante- 
lope, as  it  was  innocently  gazing  at  us,  from  the  bank  of 
the  river.  We  landed  our  boat  and  took  in  our  prize ;  but 
there  being  lo  wood  for  our  fire,  we  shoved  off",  and  soon 
ran  upon  the  head  of  an  island,  that  was  covered  with 


NORTa  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


125 


immense  quantities  of  raft  and  drift  wood,  where  we  easily 
kindled  a  huge  fire  and  ate  our  delicious  meal  from  a  clean 
peeled  log,  astride  of  which  we  comfortably  sat,  making  it 
answer  admirably  the  double  purpose  of  chairs  and  a  table. 

After  our  meal  was  finished,  we  plied  the  paddles,  and 
proceeded  several  miles  further  on  our  course;  leaving  our 
fire  burning,  and  dragging  our  canoe  upon  the  shore,  in 
the  dark,  in  a  wild  and  unknown  spot;  and  silently 
spreading  our  robes  for  our  slumbers,  which  it  is  not 
generally  considered  prudent  to  do  by  the  side  of  our  fires, 
which  might  lead  a  war-party  upon  us,  who  often  are 
prowling  about  and  seeking  an  advantage  over  their 
enemy. 

The  scenery  of  this  day's  travel,  as  I  have  before  said, 
was  exceedingly  beautiful ;  and  our  canoe  was  often  run  to 
the  shore,  upon  which  we  stepped  to  admire  the  endless 
variety  of  wild  flowers,  '*  wasting  their  sweetness  on  the 
desert  air,"  and  the  abundance  of  delicious  fruits  that  were 
about  us.  Whilst  wandering  through  the  high  grass,  the 
wild  sun-flowers  and  voluptuous  lilies  were  constantly 
taunting  us  by  striking  our  faces ;  whilst  here  and  there,  in 
every  direction,  there  were  little  copses  and  clusters  of 
plum  trees  and  gooseberries,  and  wild  currants,  loaded 
down  with  their  fruit;  and  amongst  these,  to  sweeten  the 
atmosphere  and  add  a  charm  to  the  efiect,  the  wild  rose 
bushes  i.amed  planted  in  beds  and  in  hedges,  and  every- 
where were  decked  out  in  all  the  glory  of  their  delicate 
tints,  and  shedding  sweet  aroma  to  every  breath  of  the  air 
that  passed  over  them 

In  addition  to  these,  wo  had  the  luxury  of  service- 
berries,  without  stint ;  and  tlie  buffalo  bushes,  which  are 
peculiar  to  these  northern  regions,  lined  the  banks  of  the 
river  and  defiles  in  the  bluff's,  sometimes  for  miles  together; 
forminj^j  almost  impassable  hedges,  so  loaded  with  the 
weight  of  their  fruit,  that  their  boughs  were  everywhere 
gracefully  bonding  down  and  resting  on  the  ground. 

This  last  shrub  ishcpptrdia,)  which  may  be  said  to  be  the 


;'^M^^^ -■■'■:' 


'^y^3>^' 


..  .#lt' 


126 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


most  beautiful  ornament  that  decks  out  the  wild  prairies, 
forms  a  striking  contrast  to  the  rest  of  the  foliage,  from  the 
blue  appearance  of  its  leaves,  by  which  it  can  be  dis- 
tinguished for  miles  in  distance.  The  fruit  which  it 
produces  in  such  incredible  profusion,  hanging  in  clusters 
to  every  limb  and  to  every  twig,  is  about  the  size  of 
ordinary  currants,  and  not  unlike  them  in  color  and  even 
in  flavor;  being  exceedingly  acid,  and  almost  unpala- 
table, until  they  are  bitten  by  the  frost  of  autumn,  when 
they  are  sweetened,  and  their  flavor  delicious ;  having,  to 
the  taste,  much  the  character  of  grapes,  and  I  am  inclined 
to  think,  would  produce  excellent  wine. 

The  shrub  which  bears  them  resembles  some  varieties  of 
the  thorn,  though  (as  I  have  said)  differs  entirely  in  the 
color  of  its  leaves.  It  generally  grows  to  the  height  of 
six  or  seven  feet,  and  often  to  ten  or  twelve  ;  and  in  groves 
or  hedges,  in  some  places,  for  miles  in  extent.  While 
gathering  the  fruit,  and  contemplating  it  as  capable  of 
producing  good  wine,  I  asked  my  men  this  question, 
"  Suppose  we  three  had  ascended  the  river  to  this  point 
in  the  spring  of  the  year,  and  in  a  timbered  bottv.<m  had 
pitched  our  little  encampment ;  and  one  of  you  tv/o  had 
been  a  boat-builder,  and  the  other  a  cooper — the  one  to 
have  got  out  your  staves  and  constructed  the  wine  casks, 
and  the  other  to  have  built  a  mackinaw-boat,  capable  of 
carrying  fifty  or  a  hundred  casks ;  and  I  had  been  a  good 
hunter,  capable  of  supplying  the  little  encampment  with 
meat;  and  we  should  have  started  off  about  this  time,  to 
float  down  the  current,  stopping  our  boat  wherever  we 
saw  the  finest  groves  of  the  buffalo  bush,  collecting  the 
berries  and  expressing  the  juice,  and  putting  it  into  our 
casks  for  fermentation  while  on  the  water  for  two  thousand 
miles  ;  how  many  bushels  of  these  berries  could  you  two 
gather  in  a  day,  provided  I  watched  the  boat  and  cooked 
your  meals  ?  and  how  many  barrels  of  good  wine  do  you 
think  we  could  offer  for  sale  in  St.  Louis  when  we  should 
arrive  there  ?" 


yoT.ra  American  ixdiakh 


127 


This  idea  startled  my  two  men  exeeedingly,  and  Ba'tisto 
gabbled  so  fast  in  French,  that  I  could  not  translate  ;  and 
I  am  almost  willing  to  believe,  that  but  for  the  want  of 
the  requisite  tools  for  the  enterprize,  I  should  have  lost 
the  company  of  Bogard  and  Ba'tiste;  or  that  I  should  have 
been  under  the  necessity  of  submitting  to  one  of  the 
unpleasant  alternatives  which  are  often  regulated  by  the 
majority,  in  this  strange  and  singular  wilderness. 

I  at  length,  however,  got  their  opinions  on  the  subject ; 
when  they  mutually  agreed  that  they  could  gather  thirty 
bushels  of  this  fruit  per  day;  and  I  gave  it  then,  and  I  offer 
it  now,  as  my  own  also,  that  their  estimate  was  not  out  of 
the  way,  and  judged  so  far  from  the  experiments  which  we 
made  in  the  following  manner : — We  several  times  took  a 
large  mackinaw  blanket  which  I  had  in  the  canoe,  and 
spreading  it  on  the  ground  under  the  bushes,  where  they 
were  the  most  abundantly  loaded  with  fruit ;  and  by  strik- 
ing the  stalk  of  the  tree  with  a  club,  we  received  the  whole 
contents  of  its  branches  in  an  instant  on  the  blanket,  which 
was  taken  up  by  the  corners,  and  not  unfrequently  would 
produce  us,  from  one  blow,  the  eighth  part  of  a  bushel  of 
this  fruit;  when  the  boughs,  relieved  of  their  burden, 
instantly  flew  up  to  their  natural  position. 

Of  this  beautiful  native,  which  I  think  would  form  one 
of  the  loveliest  ornamental  shrubs  for  a  gentleman's  park 
or  pleasure  grounds,  I  procured  a  number  of  the  roots ; 
but  which,  from  the  many  accidents  and  incidents  that  our 
unlucky  bark  was  subjected  to  on  our  rough  passage,  I  lost 
(and  almost  the  recollection  of  them)  as  well  as  many 
other  curiosities  I  hud  collected  on  our  way  down  the  river. 

On  the  morning  of  the  next  day,  and  not  long  after 
wo  had  stopped  and  taken  our  breakfast,  and  while  our 
canoe  was  swiftly  gliding  along  under  the  shore  of  a 
beautiful  prairie,  I  saw  in  the  grass,  on  the  bank  above  me, 
what  I  supposed  to  be  the  back  of  a  fine  elk,  busy  at  his 
grazing.  I  left  our  craft  float  silently  by  for  a  little  distance, 
when  I  communicated  the  intelligence  to  my  men,  and 


I'M 


m 


i^'ti 


128 


'iETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  TI«t 


slily  ran  in,  to  the  shore.  I  pricked  the  priming  of  my 
firelock,  and  taking  a  bullet  or  two  in  my  mouth,  stepped 
ashore,  and  trailing  my  rifle  in  ray  hand,  went  back  under 
the  bank,  carefully  crawling  up  in  a  little  ravine,  quite 
sure  of  my  game ;  when,  to  my  utter  suprise  and  violent 
alarm,  I  found  the  elk  to  bo  no  more  nor  less  than  an 
Indian  pony,  getting  his  breakfast  I  and  a  little  beyond 
him,  a  number  of  others  grazing;  and  nearer  to  me,  on  the 
left,  a  war-party  reclining  around  a  little  fire;  and  yet 
nearer,  and  within  twenty  paces  of  the  muzzle  of  my  gun, 
the  naked  shoulders  of  a  brawny  Indian,  who  seemed 
busily  engaged  in  cleaning  his  gun.  From  this  critical 
dilemma,  the  reader  can  easily  imagine  that  I  vanished 
with  all  the  suddenness  and  secrecy  that  was  possible, 
bending  my  course  towards  my  canoe.  Bogard  and 
Ba'tiste  correctly  construing  the  expression  of  my  face, 
and  the  agitation  of  my  hurried  retreat,  prematurely 
unmoored  from  the  shore ;  and  the  force  of  the  current 
carrying  them  around  a  huge  pile  of  drift  wood,  threw  mo 
back  for  some  distance  upon  my  own  resources;  though 
they  finally  got  in,  near  the  shore,  and  I  into  the  boat, 
with  the  steering  oar  in  my  hand ;  when  we  plied  our 
sinews  with  eficct  and  in  silence,  till  we  were  wafted  far 
from  the  ground  which  we  deemed  critical  and  dangerous 
to  our  lives ;  for  we  had  been  daily  in  dread  of  meeting  a 
war-party  of  the  revengeful  Riccarecs,  which  we  had  been 
told  was  on  the  river,  in  search  of  the  Maudans.  From 
and  after  this  exciting  occurrence,  the  entries  in  my  journal 
for  the  rest  of  the  voyage  to  the  village  of  the  Mandans. 
were  as  follows : — 

Saturday,  fifth  day  of  our  voyage  from  the  mouth  of 
Yellow  Stone,  at  eleven  o'clock. — Landed  our  canoe  in  the 
Grand  Dototir  (or  Big  Bend)  as  it  is  called,  at  the  base  of 
a  stately  clay  mound,  and  ascended,  all  hands,  to  the 
summit  level,  to  take  a  glance  at  the  picturesque  and 
magnificent  works  of  Nature  that  were  ;ihout  us.  Spent 
the  remainder  of  the  day  in  painting  a  vie  v.  cf  this  grand 


NOnin   AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


129 


gcono;  for  wliicli  purpose  Ba'tisto  and  Bogard  carried  my 
easel  and  canvass  to  the  top  of  a  huge  mound,  where  they 
left  mo  at  my  work  ;  and  I  painted  my  picture,  whilst  they 
amused  themselves  witU  their  rifles,  decoying  a  flock  of 
antelopes,  of  which  they  killed  several,  and  abundantly 
added  to  the  stock  of  our  provisions. 

Scarcely  anything  in  nature  can  bo  found,  I  am  sure, 
more  exceedingly  picturoaiuo  than  the  view  from  this 
place;  exhibiting  the  wonderful  manner  in  which  the 
gorges  of  the  river  have  cut  out  its  deep  channel  tht-ough 
these  walls  of  clay  on  either  side,  of  two  or  three  hundred 
foot  in  elevation;  and  the  imposing  features  of  the  high 
tablelands  in  distance,  standing  as  a  perpetual  anomaly  in 
the  country,  and  producing  the  indisputable,  though 
astounding  evidence  of  the  fact,  that  there  has  been  at 
some  ancient  period,  a  super  surface  to  this  country, 
corresponding  with  the  elevation  of  these  tabular  hills, 
whose  surface,  for  half  a  mile  or  more,  on  their  tops,  is 
perfectly  level ;  being  covered  with  a  green  turf,  and  yet 
one  hundred  and  fifty  or  two  hundred  feet  elevated  above 
what  may  now  be  properly  termed  the  summit  level  of  all 
this  section  of  country ;  as  will  be  seen  stretch'.ng  off 
at  their  base,  without  furnishing  other  instances  in 
hundreds  of  miles,  of  anything  rising  one  foot  above  its 
surface,  excepting  the  solitary  group  which  is  shewn  in  the 
painting. 

The  foct,  that  there  was  once  the  summit  level  of  this 
great  valley,  is  a  stubborn  one,  however  difficult  it  may  be 
to  reconcile  it  with  reasonable  causes  and  results ;  and  the 
mind  of  feeble  man  is  at  once  almost  paralyzed  in 
endeavoring  to  comprehend  the  process  by  which  the 
afljacent  country,  from  this  to  the  base  of  the  Eocky 
Mountains,  as  well  as  in  other  directions,  could  have  been 
swept  away ;  and  equally  so,  for  knowledge  of  the  place 
where  its  mighty  deposits  have  been  carried. 

I  recollect  to  have  seen  on  my  way  up  the  ri^.  cr,  at  the 
distance  of  six  or  eight  hundred  miles  below,  a  place  called 


1 

i 

i 

^*^vj 

^^«mK^»n 

jrii     ;-~« 

,  i  liii 

^0: 

K:|i  .. 

mg. 

3ii 

.L{^)^^^t^ 


130 


LKTTERS   AND   NOTES   ON  THE 


"  the  Square  Hills,"  and  another  denominated  "  the  Bijou 
Hills ;"  which  are  the  only  features  on  the  river,  seeming 
to  correspond  with  this  strange  remain,  and  which,  on  my 
way  down,  I  shall  carefully  examine;  and  not  fail  to  add 
their  testimonies  (if  I  am  not  mistaken  in  their  character) 
to  further  speculations  on  this  interesting  feature  of  the 
geology  of  the  great  valley  of  the  Missouri.  Whilst  my 
men  were  yet  engaged  in  their  sporting  excursions,  I  left 
my  easel  and  travelled  to  the  base  and  summit  of  these 
tabular  hills ;  which,  to  my  great  surprise,  I  found  to  be 
several  miles  from  the  river,  and  a  severe  journey  to 
accomplish,  getting  back  to  our  encampment  at  nightfall. 
I  found  by  their  sides  that  they  were  evidently  of  an 
alluvial  deposite,  composed  of  a  great  variety  of  horizontal 
layers  of  clays  of  different  colors — of  granitic  sand  and 
pebbles  (many  of  which  furnished  me  beautiful  specimens 
of  agate,  jasper  and  cornelians),  and  here  and  there  largo 
fragments  of  pumice  and  cinders,  which  gave,  as  instances 
above-mentioned,  evidences  of  volcanic  remains. 

The  mode  by  which  Bogard  and  Ba'tiste  had  been 
entrapping  the  timid  and  sagacious  antelopes  was  one 
which  is  frequently  and  successfully  practiced  in  this 
country ;  and  on  this  day  had  afforded  them  fine  sport. 

The  antelope  of  this  country,  I  believe  to  be  different 
from  all  other  known  varieties,  and  forms  one  of  the  most 
pleasing,  living  ornaments  to  this  western  world.  They 
are  seen  in  some  places  in  great  numbers  sporting  and 
playing  about  the  hills  and  dales ;  and  often,  in  flocks  of 
fifty  or  a  hundred,  will  follow  the  boat  of  the  descending 
voyageur,  or  the  travelling  caravan,  for  hours  together; 
keeping  off  at  a  safe  distance,  on  the  right  or  left,  galloping 
up  and  d9wn  the  hills,  snuffing  their  noses  and  stamping 
their  feet ;  as  if  they  were  endeavoring  to  remind  the 
traveller  of  the  wicked  trespass  he  was  making  on  their 
own  hallowed  ground. 

This  little  animal  seems  to  bo  endowed,  like  many  other 
gentle  and  sweet-breathing  creatures,  with  an  undue  share 


NOBTU  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


131 


of  curiosity,  which  often  leads  them  to  destruction ;  and 
the  hunter  who  wishes  to  entrap  them,  saves  himself  the 
trouble  of  travelling  after  them.  When  he  has  been 
discjovered,  he  has  only  to  elevate  above  the  tops  of  the 
grass,  his  red  or  yellow  handkerchief  on  the  end  of  his 
gun-rod  which  he  sticks  in  the  ground,  and  to  which  they 
are  sure  to  advance,  though  with  great  coyness  and 
caution ;  whilst  he  lies  close,  at  a  little  distance,  with  his 
rifle  in  hand ;  when  it  is  quite  an  easy  matter  to  make  sure 
of  two  or  three  at  a  shot,  which  he  gets  in  range  of  his  eye, 
to  be  pierced  with  one  bullet. 

On  Sunday,  departed  from  our  encampment  in  the  Grand 
Detour ;  and  having  passed  for  many  miles,  through  a 
series  of  winding  and  ever-varying  bluffs  and  fancied  ruins, 
like  such  as  have  already  been  described,  our  attention  was 
more  than  usually  excited  by  the  stupendous  scene  called 
by  the  voyageurs  "the  Grand  Dome,"  which  was  lying 
in  full  view  before  us. 

Our  canoe  was  here  hauled  ashore,  and  a  day  whiled 
away  again,  amongst  these  clay-built  ruins. 

We  clambered  to  their  summits  and  enjoyed  the  distant 
view  of  the  Missouri  for  many  miles  below,  wending  its 
way  through  the  countless  groups  of  clay  and  grass- 
covered  hills ;  and  we  wandered  back  on  the  plains,  in  a 
toilsome  and  unsucces.sful  pursuit  of  a  herd  of  buffaloes, 
which  we  discovered  at  some'  distance.  Though  we  were 
dijsappointed  in  the  results  of  the  chase ;  yet  we  were  in  a 
measure  repaid  in  amusements,  which  we  found  in  paying 
a  visit  to  an  extensive  village  of  prairie  dogs,  and  of 
which  I  should  render  some  account. 

The  prairie  dog  of  the  American  Prairies  is  undoubtedly 
a  variety  of  the  marmot ;  and  probably  not  unlike  those 
which  inhabit  the  vast  Steppes  of  Asia,  It  bears  no 
resemblance  to  any  variety  of  dogs,  except  in  the  sound  of 
its  voice,  when  excited  by  the  approach  of  danger,  which 
is  something  like  that  of  a  very  small  dog,  and  still  much 
more  resembling  the  barking  of  a  grey  squirrel. 


M 


El  .    '    M 


r  '  i| 


h> 


II 


&'  r 


^; 


f4^\ 


.*! 


J*    J-" 


188 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THK 


The  size  of  these  curious  little  animals  is  not  far  from 
that  of  a  very  large  rat,  and  they  are  not  unlike  in  their 
appearance.  Their  burrows,  are  uniformly  built  in  a 
lonely  desert;  and  away,  both  from  the  proximity  of 
timber  and  water.  Each  individual,  or  each  family,  dig 
their  hole  in  the  prairie  to  the  depth  of  eight  or  ten  feet, 
throwing  up  the  dirt  from  each  excavation,  in  a  little  pile, 
in  the  form  of  a  cone,  which  forms  the  only  elevation  for 
them  to  ascend ;  where  they  sit,  to  bark  and  chatter  when 
an  enemy  is  approaching  their  village.  These  villages  are 
sometimes  of  several  miles  in  extent ;  containing  (I  would 
almost  say)  myriads  of  their  excavations  and  little  dirt 
hillocks,  and  to  the  ears  of  their  visitors,  the  din  of  their 
barkings  is  too  confused  and  too  peculiar  to  be  described. 

In  the  present  instance,  we  made  many  endeavors  to 
shoot  them,  but  found  our  efforts  to  be  entirely  in  vain. 
As  we  were  approaching  them  at  a  distance,  each  one 
seemed  to  be  perched  up,  on  liis  hind  feet,  on  his  appro- 
priate domicil,  with  a  significant  jerk  of  his  tail  at  every 
bark,  positively  disputing  our  right  of  approach.  I  made 
several  attempts  to  get  near  enough  to  "draw  a  bead" 
upon  one  of  them;  and  just  before  I  was  ready  to  fire  (and 
as  if  they  knew  the  utmost  limits  of  their  safety,)  they 
sprang  down  into  their  holes,  and  instantly  turning  their 
bodies,  shewed  their  ears  and  the  ends  of  their  noses,  as 
they  were  peeping  out  at  me ;  which  position  they  would 
hold,  until  the  shortness  of  the  distance  subjected  their 
scalps  to  danger  again,  from  the  aim  cf  a  rifle;  when  they 
instantly  disa])peared  from  our  sight,  and  all  was  silence 
thereafter,  about  their  premises,  as  I  passed  them  over; 
until  I  had  so  far  advanced  by  them,  that  their  ears  were 
again  discovered,  and  at  length  themselves,  at  full  length, 
perched  on  the  tops  of  their  little  hillocks  and  threatening 
as  before ;  thus  gradually  sinking  and  rising  like  a  wave 
before  and  behind  me. 

The  holes  leading  down  to  their  burrows,  are  four  or 
five   inches   in   diameter,  and   run  down  nearly  perpen- 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


183 


dicular ;  where  they  undoubtedly  communicate  into  some- 
tiling  like  a  subterraneous  city  (as  I  have  formerly  learned 
from  fruitless  endeavors  to  dig  them  out,)  undermined 
and  vaulted ;  by  which  means,  they  can  travel  for  a  great 
distance  under  the  ground,  without  danger  from  ])ursuit. 

Their  food  is  simply  the  grass  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  their  burrows,  which  is  cut  close  to  the  ground  by  their 
flat,  shovel  teeth ;  and,  as  they  sometimes  live  twenty  miles 
from  any  water,  it  is  to  be  supposed  that  they  get  moisture 
enough  from  the  dew  on  the  grass,  on  which  they  feed 
chiefly  at  night ;  or  that  (as  is  generally  supposed)  they 
sink  wells  from  their  under-ground  habitations,  by  which 
they  descend  low  enough  to  get  their  supply.  In  th« 
winter,  they  are  for  several  months  invisible;  existing, 
undoubtedly,  in  a  torpid  state,  as  they  certainly  lay  by  no 
food  for  that  season — nor  can  they  procure  any.  These 
curious  little  animals  belong  to  almost  every  latitude  in 
the  vast  plains  of  prairie  in  North  America:  and  their 
villages,  which  I  have  sometimes  encountered  in  my 
travels,  have  compelled  my  party  to  ride  several  miles  out 
of  our  way  to  get  by  them ;  for  their  burrows  are  generally 
within  a  few  feet  of  each  other,  and  dangerous  to  the  feet 
and  the  limbs  of  our  horses.* 

The  "  Grand  Dome,"  is,  perhaps,  one  of  the  most  grand 
and  beautiful  scenes  of  the  kind  to  be  met  with  in  this 
country,  owing  to  the  perfect  appearance  of  its  several 
huge  domes,  turrets,  and  towers.  These  stupendous 
works  are  produced  by  the  continual  washing  down  of 
the  sides  of  these  clay-formed  hills;  and  although,  in 
many  instances,  their  sides,  by  exposure,  have  become  so 
hardened,  that  their  change  is  very  slow;  yet  they  are 
mostly  subjected  to  continual  phases,  more  or  less,  until 
ultimately  their  decomposition  ceases,  and  their  sides 
becoming  seeded  and  covered  with  a  green  tur^  which 

*  It  is  a  curious  fact  that  the  borrows  of  the  prairie  dogs  are  shared 
by  a  certain  species  of  owl;  and  that  the  bird  and  quadruped,  Uto 
happily  together. — Editor. 


.1. 


184 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES. 


protects  and  hold  them  (and  will  hold  them)  unalterable : 
with  carpets  of  green,  and  enamelled  with  flowers,  to  be 
gazed  upon  with  admiration,  by  the  hardy  voyageur  and 
the  tourist,  for  ages  and  centuries  to  come. 

On  Monday,  the  seventh  day  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Yellow  Stone  River,  we  floated   away  from  this  noble 
scene ;  looking  back  again  and  again  upon  it,  wondering  at 
its  curious  and  endless  changes,  as  the  swift  current  of  the 
river,  hurried  us  by,  and  gradually  out  of  sight  of  it.     We 
took  a  sort  of  melancholy  leave  of  it — but  at  every  bend 
and  turn  in  the  stream,  we  were  introduced  to  others — and 
others — and  yet  others,  almost  as  strange  and  curious.    At 
the  base  of  one  of  these,  although  we  had  passed  it,  we 
with  difficulty  lauded  our  cauoe,  and  I  ascended  to  its  top, 
w^ith  some  hours'  labor ;  having  to  out  a  foot-hold  in  the 
clay  with  my  hatchet  for  each  step,  a  great  part  of  the  way 
up  its  sides.    So  curious  was  this  solitary  bluff,  standin'^ 
alone  aa  it  did,  to  the  height  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet, 
with  its  siJes  washed  down  into  hundreds  of  variegated 
forms — with  large   blocks  of  indurated  clay,   remaining 
upon  pedestals  and  columns  as  it  were,  and  with  such  a 
variety  of  tints;    that  I  looked    upon  it  as  a  beautiful 
picture,  and  devoted  an  hour  or  two  with  my  brush,  in 
transferring  it  to  my  canvass. 

On  this  day,  just  before  night,  we  landed  our  little  boat 
in  front  of  the  Mandan  village :  and  amongst  the  hundreds 
and  thousands  who  flocked  towards  the  river  to  meet  and 
to  greet  us,  was  Mr.  Kipp,  the  agent  of  the  American  Fur 
Company,  who  has  charge  o  their  Establishment  at  this 
place.  He  kindly  orderd  my  canoe  to  bo  taken  care  of 
and  my  things  to  be  carried  to  his  quarters,  which  was  at 
once  done ;  and  I  am  at  this  time  reaping  the  benefits  of 
his  genuine  politeness,  and  gathering  the  pleasures  of  his 
amusing  and  interesting  society. 


ISAI 

which 
subject 
of  the  ] 
romanc 
for  a  be 
The: 
of  the  ] 
of  the  n 
origin, 
involved 
pcculiaij 
which 
them  a 
in  relatil 
contend! 


LETTER  No.  XL 
MANDAN  VILLAGE.  UPPER  MISSOURI. 

I  SAID  that  I  was  here  in  the  midst  of  a  strange  people, 
which  is  literally  true ;  and  I  find  myself  surrounded  by 
subjects  and  scenes  worthy  the  pens  of  Irving  or  Cooper — 
of  the  pencils  of  Raphael  or  Hogarth ;  rich  in  legends  and 
romances,  which  would  require  no  aid  of  the  imagination 
for  a  book  or  a  picture. 

The  Mandans  (or  See-pohs-kah-nu-mah-kah-kee,  "  people 
of  the  pheasants,"  as  they  call  themselves),  are  perhaps  one 
of  the  most  ancient  tribes  of  Indians  in  our  country.  Their 
origin,  like  that  of  all  the  other  tribes,  is  from  necessity, 
involved  in  mystery  and  obscurity.  Their  traditions  and 
peculiarities  I  shall  casually  recite  in  this  or  future  epistles; 
which  when  understood,  will  at  once,  I  think,  denominate 
them  a  peculiar  and  distinct  race.  They  take  great  pride 
in  relating  their  traditions,  with  regard  to  their  origin ; 
contending  that  they  were  the^irs^  people  created  on  earth. 

(135) 


lili'''- 


"  'i: '' 

•il*T%' 

r:fedM 

para 

mw 

vm 

i: 

m 

■'™ 

«ij^-^ilS..i 

i*"< 

m 

"■-) 


186 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


Their  existence  in  these  regions  has  not  bean  from  a  very 
ancient  period ;  and,  from  what  I  could  learn  of  their 
traditions,  they  have,  at  a  former  period,  been  a  very 
numerous  and  powerful  nation ;  but  by  the  continual  wars 
which  have  existed  between  them  and  their  neighbors, 
they  have  been  reduced  to  their  present  numbers. 

This  tribe  is  at  present  located  on  the  west  bank  of  the 

Missouri,  about  one  thousand  eight  hundred  miles  above 

St.  Louis,  aud  two  hundred  below  the  Mouth  of  Yellow 

Stone  river.    They  have  two  villages  only,  which  are  about 

two  miles  distant  from  each  other ;  and  number  in  all  (as 

near  as  I  can  I'arn),  about  two  thousand   souls.     Their 

present  villages  are  beautifully  located,  and  judiciously 

also,  for  defence  against  the  assaults  of  their  enemies.    The 

site  of  the  lower  (or  principal)  town,  in  particular  is  one  of 

the    nost  beautiful  and  pleasing  that  can  be  seen  in  the 

woi.d,  and  even   more  beautiful  than  imagination  could 

ever  create.    In   the  very  midst  of  an  extensive  valley 

(embraced  within  a  thousand  graceful  swells  and  parapets 

or  mounds  of  interminable   green,  changing  to  blue,  as 

tljcy  vanish  in  distance)  is  built  the  city,  or  principal  town 

of  the  Mandans.    On  an  extensive  plain  (which  is  covered 

with  a  green  turf,  as  well  as  the  hills  and  dales,  as  far  as 

the  eye  can  possiblj'  range,  without  tree  or  bush  to  be  seen) 

are  to  be  seen  rising  from  the  ground,  and  towards  the 

heavens,  domes — (not    "of  gold,"  but)   of  dirt — and   the 

thousand   spears  (not  "spires")   and   scalp-poles,  &c.   &c., 

(;f  the  semi-subteraneous  village  of  the  hospitable   and 

gentlemanly  Mandans. 

These  people  formerly  (and  within  the  recollection  of 
many  of  their  oldest  men)  lived  fifteen  or  twenty  miles 
farther  down  the  river,  in  ten  contiguous  villages;  the 
marks  or  ruins  of  which  are  yet  plainly  to  be  seen.  At 
that  period,  it  is  evident,  as  well  from  the  number  of 
lodges  which  their  villages  contained,  as  from  their 
traditions,  that  their  numbers  were  much  greater  than  at 
the  present  day. 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


IST 


Tbere  are  other,  and  very  interesting,  traditions  and 
nistorical  facts  relative  to  a  still  prior  location  and  con- 
dition of  these  people,  of  which  I  shall  speak  more  fally 
on  a  future  occasion.  From  these,  when  they  are  pro- 
niul"'ed,  I  think  there  may  be  a  pretty  fair  deduction 
drawn,  that  they  formerly  occupied  the  lower  part  of  the 
Missouri,  and  even  the  Ohio  and  Muskingum,  and  have 
gradually  made  their  way  up  the  Missouri  to  where  they 
now  are. 

There  are  many  remains  on  the  river  below  these  places 
(and,  in  fact,  to  be  seen  nearly  as  low  down  as  St  Louis), 
which  shew  clearly  the  peculiar  construction  of  Mandan 
lodges,  and  consequently  carry  a  strong  proof  of  the  above 
position.  While  descending  the  river,  however,  which  T 
shall  commence  in  a  few  weeks,  in  a  canoe,  this  will  be  a 
subject  of  interest ;  and  I  shall  give  it  close  examination. 

The  ground  on  which  the  Mandan  village  is  at  present 
built,  was  admirably  selected  for  defence ;  being  on  a  bank 
forty  or  fifty  feet  above  the  bed  of  the  river.  The  greater 
part  of  this  bank  is  nearly  perpendicular,  and  of  solid  rock. 
The  river,  suddenly  changing  its  course  to  a  right-angle, 
protects  two  sides  of  the  village,  which  is  built  upon  this 
promontory  or  angle ;  they  have  therefore  but  one  side  to 
protect,  which  is  effectually  done  by  a  strong  .piquet,  and  a 
ditch  inside  of  it,  of  three  or  four  feet  in  depth.  The 
piquet  is  composed  of  timbers  of  a  foot  or  more  in 
diameter,  and  eighteen  feet  high,  set  firmly  in  the  grotrad 
at  sufTicient  distances  from  each  other  to  admit  of  guns  and 
other  missiles  to  be  fired  between  them.  The  ditch  (unlike 
that  of  civilized  modes  of  fortification)  is  inside  of  the 
piquet,  in  which  their  warriors  screen  their  bodies  from  the 
view  and  weapons  of  their  enemies,  whilst  they  are  re- 
loading  and  discharging  their  weapons  through  the  piquets. 

The  Mandans  are  undoubtedly  secure  in  their  villages, 
from  the  attacks  of  any  Indian  nation,  and  have  nothing 
to  fear,  except  when  they  meet  their  enemy  on  the  prairie. 
Their  village  has  a  most  novel  appearance  to  the  eye  of  a 


I 


!^-i^1 


1   mrL 


■h 


133 


LKTTERS   AND  NOTKS  ON   TUE 


Btranger ;  their  lodges  are  closely  grouped  together,  leaving 
but  just  room  enough  for  walking  and  riding  between 
them ;  and  appear  from  without,  to  bo  built  entirely  of 
dirt ;  but  one  is  surprised  when  he  enters  them,  to  see  the 
neatness,  comfort,  and  spacious  dimensions  of  these  earth- 
covered  dwellings.     They  all  have  a  circular  form,  and  are 
from  forty  to  sixty  feet  in  diameter.     Their  foundations 
are  prepared  by  digging  some  two  feet  in  the  ground,  and 
forming  the  floor  of  earth,  by  levelling  the  requisite  size 
for  the  lodge.    These  floors  or  foundations  are  all  perfectly 
circular,  and  varying  in  size  in  proportion  to  the  number 
of  inmates,  or  of  the  quality  or  standing  of  the  families 
which  are  to  occupy  them.    The  superstructure  is  then 
produced,  by  arranging,  inside  of  this  circular  excavation, 
firmly  fixed  in  the  ground  and  resting  against  the  bank,  a 
barrier  or  wall  of  timbers,  some  eight  or  nine  inches  in 
diameter,  of  equal  height  (about  six  feet)  placed  on  end, 
and  resting  against  each  other,  supported  by  a  formidable 
embankment  of  earth  raised  against  them  outside ;  then, 
renting  upon  the  tops  of  these  timbers  or  piles,  are  others  of 
equal  size  and  equal  in  numbers,  of  twenty  or  twenty-five 
feet  in  length,   resting  firmly  against  each    other,    and 
sending  their  upper  or  smaller  ends  towards  the  centre  and 
top  of  the  lodge ;  rising  at  an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees  to 
the  apex,  or  sky-light,  which  is  about  three  or  four  feet  in 
diameter,  answering  as  a  chimney  and  a  sky-light  at  the 
same  time.    The  roof  of  the  lodge  being  thus  formed,  is 
supported  by  beams  passing  around  the  inner  part  of  the 
lodge  about  the  middle  of  these  poles  or  timbers,   and 
themselves  upheld  by  four  or  five  large  posts  passing  down 
to  the  floor  of  the  lodge.     On  the  top  of,  and  over  the 
poles  fonning  the  roof,  is  placed  a  complete  mat  of  willow- 
boughs,  of  half  a  foot  or  more  in  thickness,  which  protects 
the  timbers  from  the  dampness  of  the  earth,  with  which 
the  lodge  is  covered  from  bottom  to  top,  to  the  depth  of 
two  or  three  feet;  and  then  with  a  hard  or  tough  clay, 
which  is  impervious  to  water,  and  which  with  long  use 


KORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


189 


becomes  quite  hard,  and  a  lounging  place  for  the  whole 
family  in  pleasant  weather — for  sage — for  >  >ing  lovers — 
for  dogs  and  all ;  an  airing  place — a  look-out — a  place  for 
gossip  and  mirth — a  scat  for  the  solitary  gazo  and  medi- 
tations of  the  stern  warrior,  who  sits  and  contemplates  the 
peaceful  mirth  and  happiness  that  is  breathed  beneath  him, 
fruits  of  his  hard-fought  battles,  on  fields  of  desperate 
combat  with  bristling  Red  Men. 

The  floors  of  these  dwellings  are  of  earth,  but  so  hardened 
by  use,  and  swept  so  clean,  and  tracked  by  bare  and 
moccassined  feet,  that  they  have  almost  a  polish,  and 
would  scarcely  soil  the  whitest  linen.  In  the  centre,  and 
immediately  under  the  sky-light  is  the  fire-place — a  hole  of 
four  or  five  feet  in  diameter,  of  a  circular  form,  sunk  a  foot 
or  more  below  the  surface,  and  curbed  around  with  stone. 
Over  the  fire-place,  and  suspended  from  the  apex  of 
diverging  props  or  poles,  is  generally  seen  the  pot  or 
kettle,  filled  with  buffalo  meat;  and  around  it  are  the 
family,  reclining  in  all  the  most  picturesque  attitudes  and 
groups,  resting  on  their  buffalo-robes  and  beautiful  mats  of 
rushes.  These  cabins  are  so  spacious,  that  they  hold  from 
twenty  to  forty  persons — a  family  and  all  their  connexions. 
They  all  sleep  on  bedsteads  similar  in  form  to  ours,  but 
generally  not  quite  so  high ;  made  of  round  poles  rudely 
lashed  together  with  thongs.  A  buffalo  skin,  fresh  stripped 
from  the  animal,  is  stretched  across  the  bottom  poles,  and 
about  two  feet  from  the  floor ;  which,  when  it  dries,  becomes 
much  contracted,  and  forms  a  perfect  sacking-bottom.  The 
fur  side  of  this  skin  is  placed  uppermost,  on  which  they 
lie  with  great  comfort,  with  a  buffalo-robe  folded  up  for  a 
pillow,  and  others  drawn  over  them  instead  of  blankets. 
These  beds,  as  far  as  I  have  seen  them  (and  I  have  visited 
almost  every  lodge  in  the  village),  are  uniformly  screened 
with  a  covering  of  buffalo  or  elk  skins,  oftentimes  beauti- 
fully dressed  and  placed  over  the  upright  poles  or  frame, 
like  a  suit  of  curtains ;  leaving  a  hole  in  front,  sufficiently 
spacious  for  the  occupant  to  pass  in  and  out,  to  and  from 


1 


140 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


his  or  her  bed.  Some  of  these  coverings  or  curtains  are 
exceedingly  beautiful,  being  cut  tastefully  into  fringe, 
and  handsomely  ornamented  with  porcupine's  quills  and 
picture  writings  or  hieroglyphics. 

From  the  great  number  of  inmates  in  these  lodges,  they 

are   necessarily  very  spacious,  and  the  number  of  beds 

considerable.    It  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  see  these  lodges 

fifty  feet  in  diameter  inside  (which  is  an  in^jncnso  room), 

with  a  row  of  these  curtained  beds  extending  quite  around 

their  sides,  being  some  ten  or  twelve  of  them,  placed  four 

or  five  feet  apart,  and  the  space  between  them  occupied  by 

a  large  post,  fixed  quite  firm  in  the  ground,  and  six  or 

seven  feet  high,  with  large  wooden  pegs  or  bolts  in  it,  on 

which  are  hung  and  grouped,  with  a  wild  and  startling 

taste,  the  arms  and  armor  of  the   respective  proprietor- 

consisting  of  his  whitened  shield,  embossed  and  emblazoned 

with  the  figure  of  his  protecting  medicine  (or  mystery),  his 

bow  and  quiver,  his  war-club  or  battle-axe,  his  dart  or 

javelin — his  tobacco  pouch  and  pipe — his  medicine-bag 

and  his  eagle,  ermine,  or  raven  head-dress ;  and  over  all 
and  on  the  top  of  the  post  (as  if  placed  by  some  conjuror 
or  Indian  magician,  to  guard  and  protect  the  spell  of 
wildness  that  reigns  in  this  strange  place),  stands  forth  and 
in  full  relief  the  head  and  horns  of  a  buffalo,  which  is,  by 
a  village  regulation,  owned  and  possessed  by  every  man  in 
the  nation,  and  hung  at  the  head  of  his  bed,  which  he  uses 
as  a  mask  when  called  upon  by  the  chiefs,  to  join  in  the 
buffalo-dance,  of  which  I  shall  say  more  in  a  future  epistle. 
This  arrangement  of  beds,  of  arms,  &c.,  combining  the 
most  vivid  display  and  arrangement  of  colors,  of  fi  -«',  of 
trinkets,  of  barbed  and  glistening  points  and  steel,  of 
mysteries  and  hocus  pocus,  together  with  the  sombre  and 
smoked  color  of  the  roof  and  sides  of  the'  lodge  ;  and  the 
wild,  and  rude  and  red — the  graceful  (though  uncivil) 
conversational,  garrulous,  story-telling  and  happy,  though 
ignorant  and  untutored  groups,  that  are  smoking  their 
pipes — wooing   their    sweethearts,   and    embracing    their 


NORTH  AMERICAN'  INDIANS. 


141 


little  ones  about  their  peaceful  and  endeared  fire-sides; 
together  with  their  pots  and  kettles,  spoons,  and  other 
culinary  articles  of  their  own  manufacture,  around  them ; 
present  altogether,  one  of  the  most  picturesque  scenes  to 
the  eye  of  a  stranger,  that  can  be  possibly  seen ;  and  far 
more  wild  and  vivid  than  could  ever  be  imagined. 

Reader,  I  said  these  people  are  garrulous,  story-telling  ' 
and  happy  ;  this  is  true,  and  literally  so  ;  and  it  belongs  to 
me  to  establish  the  fact,  and  correct  the  error  which  seems 
to  have  gone  forth  to  the  world  on  this  subject. 

As  I  have  before  observed,  there  is  no  subject  that  I 
know  of,  within  the  scope  and  reach  of  human  wisdom,  on 
which  the  civilized  world  in  this  enlightened  age  are  more 
incorrectly  informed,  than  upon  that  of  the  true  manners 
and  customs,  and  moral  condition,  rights  and  abuses,  of  the 
North  American  Indians ;  and  that,  as  I  have  also  before 
remarked,  chiefly  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  our  culti- 
vating a  fair  and  honorable  acquaintance  with  them,  and 
doing  them  the  justi  je,  and  ourselves  the  credit,  of  a  fair 
and  impartial  investigation  of  their  true  character.  The 
present  age  of  refinement  and  research  has  brought  every 
thing  else  that  I  know  of  (and  a  vast  deal  more  than  the 
most  enthusiastic  mind  ever  dreamed  of)  within  the  scope 
and  fair  estimation  of  refined  intellect  and  of  science; 
while  the  wild  and  timid  savage,  with  his  interesting  cus- 
toms and  modes  has  vanished,  or  his  character  has  become 
changed,  at  the  approach  of  the  enlightened  and  intellectual 
world ;  who  follow  him  like  a  phantom  for  awhile,  and  in 
ignorance  of  his  true  character  at  last  turn  back  to  the 
common  business  and  social  transactions  of  life. 

Owing  to  the  above  difficulties,  which  have  stood  in  the 
way,  the  world  have  fallen  into  many  egregious  errors  with 
regard  to  the  true  modes  and  meaning  of  the  savage,  which 
I  am  striving  to  set  forth  and  correct  in  the  course  of  these 
epistles.  And  amongst  them  all,  there  is  none  more 
common,  nor  more  entirely  erroneous,  nor  more  easily 
refuted,  than  the  current  one,  that  "  the  Indian  is  a  sour, 


(     A': 


V*\ 


''    If] 


vj>   -ii 


142 


LETTEnS  AND  NOTES  ON  THB 


morose,  reserved  and  taciturn  man."  I  have  heard  thig 
opinion  advanced  a  thousand  times  and  I  believe  it;  but 
such  oertaitily,  is  not  uniformly  nor  generally  the  case. 

I  have  observed  in  all  my  travels  amongst  the  Indian 
tribwJ,  and  more  particularly  amongst  these  unassuming 
people,  that  they  are  a  far  more  talkative  and  conversational 
race  than  can  easily  be  seen  in  the  civilized  world.  Thia 
assertion,  like  many  others  I  s^hall  occasionally  make,  will 
somewhat  startle  the  folks  at  the  East,  yet  it  is  true.  No 
one  can  look  into  the  wigwams  of  these  people,  or  into  any 
little  momentary  group  of  them,  without  being  at  once 
struck  with  the  conviction  that  small-talk,  gossip,  garrulity, 
and  story-telling,  are  the  leading  passions  with  them,  who 
have  little  else  to  do  in  the  world,  but  to  while  away  their 
lives  in  the  innocent  and  endless  amusement  of  the  exercise 
of  those  talents  with  which  Nature  has  liberally  endowed 
them,  for  their  mirth  and  enjoyment. 

One  has  but  to  walk  or  ride  about  this  little  town  and 
its  environs  for  a  few  hours  in  a  pleasant  day,  and  overlook 
the  numerous  games  and  gambols,  where  their  notes  and 
yelps  of  exultation  are  unceasingly  vibrating  in  the  atmos- 
phere ;  or  peep  into  their  wigwams  (and  watch  the  glistening 
fun  that's  beaming  from  the  noses,  cheeks,  and  chins,  of  the 
crouching,  cross-legged,  and  prostrate  groups  around  the 
fire ;  where  the  pipe  is  passed,  and  jokes  and  anecdote,  and 
laughter  are  excessive)  to  become  convinced  that  it  is 
natural  to  laugh  and  be  merry.  Indeed  it  would  be  strange 
if  a  race  of  people  like  these,  who  have  little  else  to  do  or 
relish  in  life,  should  be  curtailed  in  that  source  of  pleasure 
and  amusement;  and  it  would  be  also  strange,  if  a  life-time 
of  indulgence  and  practice  in  so  innocent  and  productive 
a  mode  of  amusement,  free  from  the  cares  and  anxieties  of 
business  or  professions,  should  not  advance  them  in  their 
modes,  'and  enable  them  to  draw  far  greater  pleasure  from 
such  sources,  than  we  in  the  civilized  and  business  world 
can  possibly  feel.  If  the  uncultivated  condition  of  their 
minds  curtails  the  number  of  their  enjoyments ;  yet  they 


NORTH  AMERICAN   INDIANS. 


143 


arc  freo  from,  and  independent  of,  a  thousand  cares  and 
jealousies,  which  arise  from  mercenary  motives  in  tho 
civilized  world;  and  are  yet  far  ahead  of  us  (in  my  opin- 
ion) in  tho  real  and  uninterrupted  enjoyment  of  their 
simple  natural  faculties. 

They  live  in  a  country  and  in  communities  whore  it  is 
not  customary  to  look  forward  into  the  future  with  concern, 
for  they  live  without  incurring  the  expenses  of  life,  Avhich 
arc  absolutely  necessary  and  unavoidable  in  the  enlightened 
world;  and  of  course  their  inclinations  and  faculties  aro 
solely  directed  to  the  enjoyment  of  the  present  day,  with- 
out the  sober  reflections  on  the  past  or  apprehensions  of  the 
future. 

With  minds  thus  unexpanded  and  uninfluenced  by  the 
thousand  passions  and  ambitions  of  civilized  life,  it  is  easy 
and  natural  to  concentrate  their  thoughts  and  their  conver- 
sation upon  the  little  and  trifling  occurrences  of  their  lives. 
They  are  fond  of  fun  and  good  cheer,  and  can  laugh  easily 
and  heartily  at  a  slight  joke,  of  which  their  peculiar  modes 
of  life  furnish  them  an  inexhaustible  fund,  and  enable  them 
to  cheer  their  little  circle  about  the  wigwam  fire-side  with 
endless  laughter  and  garrulity. 

It  may  be  thought,  that  I  am  taking  a  great  deal  of  pains 
to  establish  this  fact,  and  I  am  dwelling  longer  upon  it  than 
I  otherwise  should,  inasmuch  as  I  am  opposing  an  error 
that  seems  to  have  become  current  through  the  world ;  and 
wliich,  if  it  be  once  corrected,  removes  a  material  difiiculty, 
which  has  always  stood  in  the  way  of  a  fair  and  just  esti- 
mation of  the  Indian  character.  For  the  purpose  of  placing 
the  Indian  in  a  proper  light  before  the  world,  as  I  hope  to 
do  in  many  respects,  it  is  of  importance  to  me — it  is  but 
justice  to  the  savage — and  justice  to  my  readers  also,  that 
such  points  should  be  cleared  up  as  I  proceed ;  and  for  the 
world  who  inquire  for  correct  and  just  information,  they 
must  take  my  words  for  the  truth,  or  else  come  to  this 
country,  and  look  for  themselves  into  these  grotesque  circles 
of  never-ending  laughter  and  fun,  instead  of  going  to  Wash- 


'  K' 


I 


ik.-'- 


Id ' 


'&jf»ii^''i^'" 


144 


LETTERS  AND  N0TE3  OX  THE 


ington  City  to  gaze  on  the  poor  embarrassed  Indian  who  is 
called  there  by  his  "  Great  Father,"  to  contend  with  the 
sophistry  of  the  learned  and  acquisitive  world,  in  bartering 
away  his  lands  with  the  graves  and  the  hunting  grounds  of 
his  ancestors.  There  is  not  the  proper  place  to  study  the 
Indian  character ;  yet  it  is  the  place  where  the  sycophant 
and  the  scribbler  go  to  gaze  and  frown  upon  him — to  learn 
his  character  and  write  his  history ! — and  because  he  does 
not  speak,  and  quaffs  the  delicious  beverage  which  he 
receives  from  white  men's  hands,  "  he's  a  speechless  brute 
and  a  drunkard."  An  Indian  is  a  beggar  in  Washington 
City,  and  a  white  man  is  almost  equally  so  in  the  Maudan 
village.  An  Indian  in  Washington  is  mute,  is  dumb  and 
embarrassed ;  and  ao  is  a  white  man  (and  for  the  very  same 
reasons)  in  this  place — he  has  nobody  to  talk  to. 

A  wild  Indian,  to  reach  the  civilized  world,  must  needs 
travel  some  thousands  of  miles  in  vehicles  of  conveyance 
to  which  he  is  unaccustomed — through  latitudes  and  longi- 
tudes which  are  new  to  him — living  on  food  that  he  is 
unused  to — stared  and  gazed  at  by  the  thousands  and  tens 
of  thousands  whom  he  cannot  talk  to — his  heart  grieving 
and  his  body  sickening  at  the  exhibition  of  white  men's 
wealth  and  luxuries,  which  are  enjoyed  on  the  land,  and 
over  the  bones  of  his  ancestors.  And  at  the  end  of  his  jour- 
ney he  stands  (like  a  caged  animal)  to  be  scanned — to  bo 
criticised — to  be  pitied — and  heralded  to  the  world  as  a 
mute — as  a  brute,  and  a  beggar. 

A  white  man,  to  reach  this  village,  must  travel  by  steam- 
boat— by  canoes — on  horseback  and  on  foot ;  swim  rivers- 
wade  quagmires — fight  mosquitoes — patch  his  moccasins, 
and  patch  them  again  and  again,  and  his  breeches  ;  live  on 
ni«  at  alone — sleep  on  the  ground  the  whole  way,  and  tliiiik 
ar.d  dream  of  his  frien''^  he  has  left  behind;  and  when  he 
gets  here,  half-starved,  and  half-naked,  and  more  than  half 
sick,  he  finds  himself  a  beggar  for  a  place  to  sleep,  and  for 
something  to  cat:  a  mute  amongst  thousands  who  flock 
about  him,  to  look  and  to  criticise,  and  to  laugh  at  him  for 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


145 


his  jaded  appearance,  and  to  speak  of  him  as  they  do  of  all 
white  men  (without  distinction)  as  liars.  These  people  are 
in  the  habit  of  seeing  no  white  men  in  their  country  but 
Traders,  and  know  of  no  other ;  deeming  us  all  alike,  and 
receiving  us  all  under  the  presumption  that  we  come  to  trade 
or  barter ;  applying  to  us  all,  indiscriminately,  the  epithet 
of  "liars"  or  Traders. 

The  reader  will  therefore  see,  that  we  mutually  suffer  in 
each  other's  estimation  from  the  unfortunate  ignorance, 
which  distance  has  chained  us  in  ;  and  (as  I  can  vouch,  and 
the  Indian  also,  who  has  visited  the  civilized  world)  that  the 
historian  who  would  record  justly  and  correctly  the  char- 
acter and  customs  of  a  people,  must  go  and  live  among 
them. 


10 


||'''S»'il*(*'>^': 


.r*'2&--'-s 


i 


.1''    ? 


../..,.      i.    ...    :*■:    cu-    '. 


MANDAN  TILLAOI,  FROM   CATLIN'S  FAINTINn. 

LETTER  No.  XII. 
MANDAN  VILLAGE,  UPPER  MISSOURI. 

In  my  last,  I  gave  some  account  of  the  village,  and  the 
customs,  and  appearances  of  this  strange  people, — and  I 
will  now  proceed  to  give  further  details  on  that  subject. 

I  have  this  morning,  perched  myself  upon  the  top  of  one 
of  the  earth-covered  lodges,  which  I  have  before  described, 
and  having  the  whole  village  beneath  and  about  me, 
with  its  sachems— its  warriors — its  dogs — and  its  horses 
in  motion — its  medicines  (or  mysteries)  and  scalp-polos 
waving  over  my  head — its  piquets — its  green  fields  and 

.     (146) 


'4k,,i, 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


U7 


prairies,  and  river  in  full  view,  witli  the  din  and  bustle  of 
the  thrilling  panorama  that  is  about  me.  I  shall  be  able, 
I  hope,  to  give  some  sketches  more  to  the  life  than  I  could 
have  done  from  any  effort  of  recollection. 

I  said  that  the  lodges  or  wigwams  were  covered  with 
earth — were  of  forty  or  sixty  feet  in  diameter,  and  so 
closely  grouped  that  there  was  but  just  room  enough  to 
walk  and  ride  between  them, — that  they  bad  a  door  by 
which  to  enter  them,  and  a  hole  in  the  top  for  the  admission 
of  light,  and  for  the  smoke  to  escape, — that  the  inmates 
were  at  times  grouped  upon  their  tops  in  conversations 
and  other  amusements,  &o.;  and  yet  you  know  not  exactly 
how  they  look,  nor  what  is  the  precise  appearance  of  the 
strange  world  that  is  about  me.  There  is  really  a  newness 
and  rudeness  in  every  thing  that  is  to  be  seen.  There  are 
several  hunlr:  houses  or  dwellings  about  me,  and  they 
are  purely  ut  c  -they  are  all  covered  with  dirt — the 
people  are  all  v-l,  and  yet  distinct  from  all  other  red  folks 
I  have  seen.  The  horses  are  wild — every  dog  is  a  wolf— 
the  whole  moving  mass  are  strangers  to  me ;  the  living,  in 
everything,  carry  an  air  of  intractable  wildness  about  them, 
and  the  dead  are  not  buried,  but  dried  upon  scaffolds. 

The  groups  of  lodges  around  me  present  a  very  curious 
and  pleasing  appearance,  resembling  in  shape  (more  nearly 
than  anything  else  I  can  compare  them  to)  so  many  potash- 
kettles  inverted.  On  the  tops  of  these  are  to  be  seen 
groups  standing  and  reclining,  whose  wild  and  picturesque 
appearance  it  would  be  difficult  to  describe.  Stern  warriors, 
like  statues,  standing  in  dignified  groups,  wrapped  in 
their  painted  robes,  with  their  heads  decked  and  plumed 
with  quills  of  the  war-eagle ;  extending  their  long  arms  to 
the  east  or  the  west,  the  scenes  of  their  battles,  which  they 
are  recounting  over  to  each  other.  In  another  direction, 
the  wooing  lover,  softening  the  heart  of  his  fair  Taih-nah- 
ta'-a  with  the  notes  of  his  simple  lute.  On  other  lodges, 
and  beyond  these,  groups  are  engaged  in  games  of  thfe 
"  moccasin,"  or  the  "  platter."    Some  arc  to  be  seen  manu 


'l&:^ii^ 


>m^iz 


148 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


faotoring  robes  and  dresses,  and  others  fatigued  with, 
amusements  or  occupations,  have  stretched  their  limbs  to 
enjoy  the  luxury  of  sleep,  whilst  basking  in  the  sun.  "With 
all  this  wild  and  varied  medley  of  living  beings  are  mixed 
their  dogs,  which  seem  to  be  so  near  an  Indian's  heart,  as 
almost  to  constitute  a  material  link  of  his  existence. 

In  the  centre  of  the  village  is  an  open  space,  or  public 
area,  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  diameter,  and 
circular  in  form,  which  is  used  for  all  public  games  and 
festivals,  shows  and  exhibitions ;  and  also  for  their  "annual 
religious  ceremonies,"  which  are  soon  to  take  place,  and  of 
which  I  shall  hereafter  give  some  account.  The  lodges 
around  this  open  space  front  in,  with  their  doors  towards 
the  centre;  and  in  the  tniddle  of  this  circle  stands  an 
object  of  great  religious  veneration,  as  I  am  told,  on 
account  of  the  importance  it  has  in  the  conduction  of  those 
annual  religious  rites. 

This  object  is  in  form  of  a  large  hogshead,  some  eight  or 
ten  feet  high,  made  of  planks  and  hoops,  containing  within 
it  some  of  their  choicest  medicines  or  mysteries,  and 
religiously  preserved  unbacked  or  unscratched,  as  a  symbol 
of  the  "  Big  Canoe,"  as  they  call  it. 

One  of  the  lodges  fronting  on  this  circular  area,  and 
facing  this  strange  object  of  their  superstition,  is  called  the 
"  Medicine  Lodge,"  or  council  house.  It  is  in  this  sacred 
building  that  these  wonderful  ceremonies,  in  commemo- 
ration of  the  flood,  take  place.  I  am  told  by  the  Tradors 
that  the  cruelties  of  these  scenes  are  frightful  and  abhorrent 
in  the  extreme ;  and  that  this  huge  wigwam,  which  is  now 
closed,  has  been  built  exclusively  for  this  grand  celebration. 
I  am  c^ery  day  reminded  of  the  near  approach  of  the 
season  for  this  strange  affiiir,  and  as  I  have  not  yet  seen 
any  thing  of  it,  I  cannot  describe  it ;  I  know  it  only  f'-ora 
the  relations  of  the  Traders  who  have  witnessed  parts  of 
it ;  and  their  descriptions  are  of  so  extraordinary  a 
character,  that  I  would  not  be  willing  to  describe  until  I 


L. 


* 


NOBTH  AMEBICAN  INDIANS. 


U9 


can  see  for  myself, — which  will,  in  all  probability,  be  in  a 
few  days. 

In  ranging  the  eye  over  the  village  from  where  I  am 
writing,  there  is  presented  to  the  view  the  strangest 
mixture  and  medley  of  unintelligible  trash  (independent  of 
the  living  beings  that  are  in  motion),  that  can  possibly  be 
imagined.  On  the  roofs  of  the  lodges,  besides  the  groups 
of  living,  are  buffaloes'  skulls,  skin  canoes,  pots  and 
pottery;  sleds  and  sledges — and  suspended  on  poles, 
erected  some  twenty  feet  above  the  doors  of  their  wigwams, 
are  displayed  in  a  pleasant  day,  the  scalps  of  warriors, 
preserved  as  trophies;  and  thus  proudly  exposed  as 
evidence  of  their  warlike  deeds.  In  other  parts  are  raised 
on  poles  the  warriors'  pure  and  whitened  shields  and 
quivers,  with  medicine-bags  attached ;  and  here  and  there 
a  sacrific  of  red  cloth,  or  other  costly  stuff,  offered  up  to 
the  Great  Spirit,  over  the  door  of  some  benignant  chief,  in 
humble  gratitude  for  the  blessings  which  he  is  enjoying. 
Such  is  a  part  of  the  strange  medley  that  is  before  and 
around  me;  and  amidst  them  and  the  blue  streams  of 
smoke  that  are  rising  from  the  tops  of  these  hundred 
"coal-pits,"  can  be  seen  in  distance,  the  green  and  bound- 
less, treeless,  bushless  prairie ;  and  on  it,  and  contiguous  to 
the  piquet  which  encloses  the  village,  a  hundred  scaffolds, 
on  which  their  "  dead  live,"  as  they  term  it. 

These  people  never  bury  the  dead,  but  place  the  bodies  on 
slight  scaffolds  just  above  the  reach  of  human  hands,  and 
out  of  the  way  of  wolves  and  dogs ;  and  they  are  there  left 
to  moulder  and  decay.  This  cemetery,  or  place  of  deposite 
for  the  dead,  is  just  back  of  the  village,  on  a  level  prairie, 
and  with  all  its  appearances,  history,  foim,  ceremonies,  etc., 
is  one  of  the  strangest  and  most  interesting  objects  to  be 
described  in  the  vicinity  of  this  peculiar  race. 

Whenever  a  person  dies  in  the  Mandan  village,  and  the 
customary  honors  and  condolence  are  paid  to  his  remains, 
and  the  body  dressed  in  its  best  attire,  painted,  oiled, 
feastod,  and  supplied  with  bow  and  quiver,  shield,  pipe 


^fi 


fell 


m. 


150 


LETTEB3  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


and  tobacco— knife,  flint  and  steel,  and  provisions  enough  to 
last  him  a  few  days  on  the  journey  which  he  is  to  perform ; 
a  fresh  buffalo's  skin,  just  taken  from  the  animal's  back,  is 
wrapped  around  the  body,  and  tightly  bound  and  wound 
with  thongs  of  raw  hide  from  head  to  foot.  Then  other 
robes  are  soaked  in  water,  till  they  are  quite  soft  and 
elastic,  which  are  also  bandaged  around  the  body  in  the 
same  manner,  and  tied  fast  with  thongs,  which  are  wound 
with  great  care  and  exactness,  so  as  to  exclude  the  action 
of  the  air  from  all  parts  of  the  body. 

r;;    rrsv,; I ;/•!,•    "r;; 


MANDAM  BDBIAt.  PLACI.  " 

There  is  then  a  separate  scaffold  erected  for  it,  con- 
Btructed  of  four  upright  posts,  a  little  higher  than  human 
hands  can  reach  ;  and  on  the  tops  of  these  are  small  poles 
passing  around  from  one  post  to  the  others ;  across  which 
are  a  number  of  willow- rods  jnst  strong  enough  to  support 
the  body,  which  is  laid  upon  them  on  its  back,  with  its 
feet  carefully  presented  towards  the  rising  sun 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


161 


There  are  a  great  number  of  these  bodies  resting  exactly 
in  a  similar  way;  excepting  in  some  instances  where  a 
chief,  or  medicine-man,  may  be  seen  with  a  few  yards  of 
scarlet  or  blue  cloth  spread  over  his  remains,  as  a  mark  of 
public  respect  and  esteem.  Some  hundreds  of  these  bodies 
may  be  seen  reposing  in  this  manne"  in  this  curious  place, 
which  the  Indians  call,  "  the  "  'la^  '  the  dead  ;'*  and  the 
traveller,  who  visits  this  couu^ry  to  -.udy  and  learn  will 
not  only  be  struck  with  the  novel  appearance  of  the  scene ; 
but  if  he  will  give  attention  to  the  respect  and  devotions 
that  are  paid  to  this  sacred  place,  he  will  draw  many  a 
moral  deduction  that  will  last  him  through  life ;  he  will 
learn,  at  least,  that  filial,  conjugal,  and  paternal  affection 
are  not  necessarily  the  results  of  civilization ;  but  that  the 
Great  Spirit  has  given  them  to  man  in  his  native  state ;  and 
that  the  spices  and  improvements  of  the  enlightened  world 
have  never  refined  upon  them.        '  -    '       '       '    '  '    '• -• 

There  is  not  a  day  in  the  year  in  which  one  may  not  see 
in  this  place  evidences  of  this  feet,  that  will  wring  tears 
from  his  eyes,  and  kindle  in  his  bosom  a  spark  of  respect 
and  sympathy  for  the  poor  Indian,  if  he  never  felt  it  before. 
Fathers,  mothers,  wives,  and  children,  may  be  seen  lying 
under  these  scaffolds,  prostrated  upon  the  ground,  with 
their  faces  in  the  dirt,  howling  forth  incessantly  the  most 
piteous  and  heart-broken  cries  and  lamentations  for  the 
misfortunes  of  their  kindred;  tearing  their  hair — cutting 
their  flesh  with  their  knives,  and  doing  other  penance  to 
appease  the  spirits  of  the  dead,  whose  misfortunes  they 
attribute  to  some  sin  or  omission  of  their  own,  for  which 
they  sometinies  inflict  the  most  excruciating  self-torture. 

When  the  scaffolds  on  which  the  bodies  rest,  decay  and 
fall  to  the  ground,  the  nearest  relations  having  buried  the 
rest  of  the  bones,  take  the  skulls,  which  are  perfectly 
bleached  and  purified,  and  place  them  in  circles  of  an 
hundred  or  more  on  the  prairie — placed  at  e<iual  distances 
apart  (some  eight  or  nine  inches  from  each  other),  with  the 
Cices  all  looking  to  the  centre;  where  they  are  religiously 


>-w 


•.'f--M> 


[»i    UK 


152 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


protected  and  preserved  in  tbeir  precise  positions  from  year 
to  year,  as  objects  of  religious  and  affectionate  veneration. 
There  are  several  of  these  «*Golgothas"  or  circles  of 
twenty  or  thirty  feet  in  diameter,  and  in  the  centre  of  each 
ring  or  circle  is  a  little  mound  of  three  feet  high,  on  which 
uniformly  rest  two  buffalo  skulls  (a  male  and  female) ;  and 
in  the  centre  of  the  little  mound  is  erected  a  "  medicine 
pole,"  about  twenty  feet  high,  supporting  many  curious 
articles  of  mystery  and  superstition,  which  they  suppose 
have  the  power  of  guarding  and  protecting  this  sacred 
arrangement.  Here  then  to  this  strange  place  do  these 
people  again  resort,  to  evince  their  further  affections  for 
the  dead — not  in  groans  and  lamentations,  however,  for 
several  years  have  cured  the  anguish ;  but  fond  affections 
and  endearments  are  here  renewed,  and  conversations  are 
here  held  and  cherished  with  the  dead. 

Each  one  of  these  skulls  is  placed  upon  a  bunch  of  wild 
sage,  which  has  been  pulled  and  placed  under  it.  The 
wife  knows  (by  some  mark  or  resemblance)  the  skull  of 
her  husband  or  her  child,  which  lies  in  this  group ;  and 
there  seldom  passes  a  day  that  she  does  not  visit  it,  with  a 
dish  of  the  best  cooked  food  that  her  wigwam  affords, 
which  slie  sets  before  the  skull  at  night,  and  returns  for 
the  dish  in  the  morning.  As  soon  as  it  is  discovered  that 
the  sage  on  wliich  the  skull  rests  is  beginning  to  decay,  the 
woman  cuts  a  fresh  bunch,  and  places  the  skull  carefully 
upon  it,  removing  that  which  was  under  it. 

Indepcntlent  of  the  above-named  duties,  wliich  draw  the 
women  to  this  spot,  they  visit  it  from  inclination,  and 
linger  upon  it  to  hold  converse  and  company  with  the 
dead.  There  is  scarcely  an  hour  in  a  pleasant  day,  but 
more  or  less  of  these  women  may  be  seen  sitting  or  laying 
by  tlie  skull  of  their  child  or  husband — talking  to  it  in  the 
most  pleasant  and  endearing  language  that  they  can  use 
(as  they  are  wont  to  do  in  former  days)  and  seemingly 
getting  an  answerback.  It  is  not  unfrequently  th.;  case, 
that  the  woman  brings  her  needle-work  with  her,  fpending 


tl 
oi 
b] 
ov 
ar 

siv 

yet 

whi 

and 

gosi 

T 

thes 

stud 

Lend 

irapc 

bene] 


en 


11. 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


153 


the  greater  part  of  the  day,  sitting  by  the  side  of  the  skull 
of  her  child,  chatting  incessantly  with  it,  while  she  is  em- 
broidering or  garnishing  a  pair  of  moccasins ;  and  perhaps, 
overcome  with  fatigue,  falls  asleep,  with  her  arms  encircled 
around  it,  forgetting  herself  for  hours ;  after  which  she 
gathers  up  her  things  and  returns  to  the  village. 

There  is  something  exceedingly  interesting  and  impres- 
sive in  these  scenes,  which  are  so  strikingly  dissimilar,  and 
yet  within  a  few  rods  of  each  other ;  the  one  is  the  place 
where  they  pour  forth  the  frantic  anguish  of  their  souls — 
and  afterwards  pay  their  visits  to  the  other,  to  jest  and 
gossip  with  the  dead. 

The  great  variety  of  shapes  and  characters  exhibited  in 
these  groups  of  crania,  render  them  a  very  interesting 
study  for  the  craniologist  and  phrenologist ;  but  I  appre- 
hend that  it  would  be  a  matter  of  great  difficulty  (if  not  of 
impossibility)  to  procure  them  at  this  time,  for  the  use  and 
benefit  of  the  scientifio  world. 


CIRCLE  or  SKILLS   OK  TUB  MANDANS    FROM  CATUN'S   PAINTINO. 


•1 


If- 


r 


i 


li      , 


It,"      •'  ' 


M    A. 


LETTER  No.  XIIL 


MANDAN  VILLAGE,  UPPER  MISSOUBI. 

In  several  of  my  former  Letters  I  have  given  sketches  of 
the  village,  and  some  few  of  the  customs  of  these  peculiar 
people;  and  I  have  many  more  yet  in  store;  some  of  which 
will  induce  the  readers  to  laugh,  and  others  alnK>st  dispose 
thom  to  weep.  But  at  present,  I  drop  them,  and  introduce 
a  few  of  the  wild  and  gentlemanly  Mandans  themselves; 
and  first,  Ha-na-tah-nu-mauh,  (the  wolf  chief.)  This  man  is 
head-chief  of  the  nation,  and  familiarly  known  by  the 
name  of  "Chef  de  Loup,"  as  the  French  Traders  call  hira; 
a  haughty,  austere,  and  overbearing  man,  respected  and 
feared  by  his  people  rather  than  loved.  The  tenure  by 
which  this  man  holJs  his  office,  is  that  by  which  the  head- 
(154) 


KORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


155 


chiefs  of  most  of  the  tribes  claim,  that  of  inheritance.  It 
is  a  gener^,  though  not  an  infalUble  rule  amongst  the 
numerous  tribes  of  North  American  Indians,  that  the  office 
of  chief  belongs  to  the  eldest  son  of  a  chief;  provided  he 
shows  himself,  by  his  conduct,  to  be  equally  worthy  of  it 
as  any  other  in  the  nation ;  making  it  hereditary  on  a  very 
proper  condition — ^in  default  of  which  requisites,  or  others 
which  may  happen,  the  office  is  elective. 

The  dress  of  this  chief  was  one  of  great  extravagance, 
and  some  beauty ;  manufactured  of  skins ;  and  a  great 
number  of  quills  of  the  raven,  forming  his  stylish  head- 
dress. 

The  next  and  second  chief  of  the  tribe,  is  Mah-to-toh-pa 
(the  four  bears).  This  extraordinary  man,  though  second 
in  office  is  undoubtedly  the  first  and  most  popular  man  in 
the  nation.  Free,  generous,  elegant  and  gentlemanly  in 
his  deportment — handsome,  brave  and  valiant;  wearing  a 
robe  on  his  back,  with  the  history  of  his  battles  emblazoned 
on  it;  which  would  fill  a  book  of  themselves,  if  properly 
translated.  This,  readers,  is  the  most  extraordinary  man, 
perhaps,  who  lives  at  this  day,  in  the  atmosphere  of 
Nature's  noblemen ;  and  I  shall  certainly  tell  you  more  of 
him  anon. 

After  him,  there  are  Mah-tahp-ta-ha  (he  who  rushes 
through  the  middle);  Seehk-hee-da  (the  mouse-colored 
feather);  San-ja-ka-ko-kah  (the  deceiving  wolf);  Mah-to- 
he-ha  (the  old  bear),  and  others,  distinguished  as  chiefs  and 
warriors — and  there  are  belles  also ;  such  as  Mi-neek-e-sunk- 
te-ca  (the  mink ;)  and  the  little  gray-haired  Sha-ko-ka-mint, 
and  fitly  others,  who  are  famous  for  their  conquests,  not 
with  the  bow  or  the  javelin,  but  with  their  small  black 
eyes,  which  shoot  out  from  under  their  unfledged  brows, 
and  pierce  the  boldest,  fiercest  chieftain  to  the  heart. 

The  Mandans  are  certainly  a  very  interesting  and  pleasing 
people  in  their  personal  appearance  and  manners ;  differing 
in  many  respects,  both  in  looks  and  customs,  from  all  other 
tribes  which  I  have  seen.    They  are  not  a  warlike  people ; 


;-.  f    ,  t  .1.  ,■>■_,    .     J 


7 'r  w.%'  Jl 

if  '  nKju  1  If ''fl 


■i^^^'i^'fi^fl' 


166 


LKITEIW  AND  NOTES  OS  THE 


for  th  ^y  seldom,  if  ever,  carry  war  into  their  enemies' 
country ;  but  when  invaded,  show  their  valor  and  courage 
to  bo  equal  to  that  of  any  people  on  earth.  Being  a  small 
tribe,  and  unable  to  contend  on  the  wide  prairies  with  the 
Sioux  and  other  roaming  tribes,  who  are  ten  times  more 
numerous,  they  have  very  judicioaslji  located  themselves  iu 
a  permanent  village,  which  is  strongly  fortified,  and  ensures 
their  preservation.  By  this  means  they  have  advanced 
further  in  the  arts  of  manut'acture;  have  supplied  their 
lodges  more  abundantly  with  the  comforts,  and  even  luxu- 
ries of  life,  than  any  Indian  nation  I  know  of.  The  conse- 
quence of  this  {?,  that  this  tribe  have  taken  many  steps 
ahead  of  other  tribes  in  manners  and  refinements  (if  I  may 
be  allowed  to  apply  the  word  refinement  to  Indian  life) ; 
and  are  therefore  familiarly  (and  correctly)  denominated,  by 
the  Traders  and  others,  who  have  been  amongst  them, "  the 
polite  and  friendly  Mandans." 

There  is  certainly  great  justice  in  the  remark ;  and  so 
forcibly  have  I  been  struck  with  the  peculiar  ease  and  ele- 
gance of  these  people,  together  with  the  diversity  of  com- 
plexions, the  various  colors  of  their  hair  and  eyes — the 
singularity  of  their  language,  and  their  peculiar  and  unac- 
countable customs,  that  I  am  fully  convinced  that  they  have 
sprung  from  some  other  origin  than  that  of  the  other  North 
American  tribes,  or  that  they  are  an  amalgam  of  natives 
with  some  civilized  race. 

Here  arises  a  question  of  very  great  interest  and  impor- 
tance for  discussion ;  and,  after  further  familiarity  with  their 
character,  customs  and  traditions,  if  I  forget  it  not,  I  will 
eventually  give  it  further  consideration.  Suffice  it  then,  for 
the  present,  that  their  personal  appearance  alone,  indepen- 
dent of  their  modes  and  customs,  pronounces  them  at  once, 
as  more  or  less  than  savage. 

A  stranger  in  the  Mandan  village  is  first  struck  with  the 
different  shades  of  complexion,  and  various  colors  of  hair, 
which  he  sees  in  a  crowd  about  him ;  and  is  at  once  almost 
disposed  to  exclaim  that  "  these  are  not  Indians." 


•r!'    :;. 


NORTH  AMERICAK  INDIANS. 


157 


There  are  a  great  many  of  these  people  whose  com- 
plexions appear  as  light  as  half-breeds ;  and  amongst  the 
women  particularly,  there  are  many  whose  skins  are  almost 
white,  with  the  most  pleasing  symmetry  and  proportion  of 
features ;  with  hazel,  with  grey,  and  with  blue  eyes, — with 
mildness  and  sweetness  of  expression,  and  excessive  modesty 
of  demeanor,  which  render  them  exceedingly  pleasing  and 
beautiful. 

Why  this  diversity  of  complexion  I  cannot  tell,  nor  can 
they  themselves  account  for  it.  Their  traditions,  so  far  as 
I  have  yet  learned  them,  afford  us  no  information  of  their 
having  had  any  knowledge  of  white  men  before  the  visit 
of  Lewis  and  Clarke,  made  to  their  village  thirty-three  years 
ago.  Since  that  time  there  have  been  but  very  few  visits 
from  white  men  to  this  place,  and  surely  not  enough  to  have 
changed  the  complexions  and  the  customs  of  a  nation.  And 
I  recollect  perfectly  well  that  Governor  Clarke  told  me, 
before  I  started  for  this  place,  that  I  would  find  the  Mandans 
a  strange  people  and  half  white. 

The  diversity  in  the  color  of  hair  is  also  equally  as  great 
as  that  in  the  complexion ;  for  in  a  numerous  group  of  these 
people  (and  more  particularly  amongst  the  females,  who 
never  take  pains  to  change  its  natural  color,  as  the  men 
often  do),  there  may  be  seen  every  shade  and  color  of  hair 
that  can  be  seen  in  our  own  country,  with  the  exception  of 
red  or  auburn,  which  is  not  to  be  found. 

And  there  is  yet  one  more  strange  and  unaccountable 
peculiarity,  which  can  probably  be  seen  nowhere  else  on 
earth ;  nor  on  any  rational  grounds  accounted  for, — other 
than  it  is  a  freak  or  order  of  Nature,  for  which  she  has  not 
seen  fit  to  assign  a  reason.  There  are  very  many,  of  hy.h. 
sexes,  and  of  every  age,  from  infancy  to  manhooa  »n*l  old 
age,  with  hair  of  a  bright  silvery  grey,  and  in  some  instances 
almost  perfectly  white. 

This  singular  and  eccentric  appearance  is  much  oftener 
seen  among  the  women  than  it  is  with  the  men  ;  for  many 
of  the  latter  who  have  it,  seem  ashamed  of  it,  and  artfully 


m 


158 


LXTTEBS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


conceal  it,  by  filling  their  hair  with  glue  and  black  and  red 
earth.  The  women,  on  the  other  hand,  seem  proud  of  it, 
and  display  it  often  in  an  almost  incredible  profusion,  which 
spreads  over  their  shoulders  and  falls  as  low  as  the  knee. 
I  have  ascertained,  on  a  careful  enquiry,  that  about  one  in 
ten  or  twelve  of  the  whole  tribe  are  what  the  French  call 
"cheveux  gris,"  or  greyhairs;  and  that  this  strange  and 
unaccountable  phenomenon  is  not  the  result  of  disease  or 
habit,  but  that  it  is  unquestionably  a  hereditary  character 
which  runs  in  families,  and  indicates  no  inequality  in  dispo- 
sition or  intellect.  And  by  passing  this  hair  through  my 
hands,  as  I  oftien  have,  I  have  found  it  uniformly  to  be  as 
coarse  and  harsh  as  a  horse's  mane;  differing  materially 
from  the  hair  of  other  colors,  which,  amongst  the  Man- 
dans,  is  generally  as  fine  and  as  soft;  as  silk. 

The  reader  will  at  once  see,  by  the  above  facts,  that  there 
is  enough  upon  the  faces  and  heads  of  these  people  to  stamp 
them  peculiar, — when  he  meets  them  in  the  heart  of  this 
almost  boundless  wilderness,  presenting  such  diversities  of 
color  in  the  complexion  and  hair;  when  he  knows,  from 
what  he  has  seen,  and  what  he  has  read,  that  all  other 
primitive  tribes  known  in  America,  are  dark  copper- 
colored,  with  jet  black  hair. 

From  these  few  facts  alone,  the  reader  will  see  that  I  am 
amongst  a  strange  and  interesting  people,  and  know  how  to 
pardon  me,  if  I  lead  him  through  a  maze  of  novelty  and 
mysteries  to  the  knowledge  of  a  strange,  yet  kind  and  hos- 
pitable people,  whose  fate,  like  that  of  all  their  race,  is 
sealed ; — whose  doom  is  fixed,  to  live  just  long  enough  to 
be  imperfectly  known,  and  then  to  fiali  before  the  fell  disease 
or  sword  of  civilizing  devastation. 

The  stature  of  the  Mandans  is  rather  below  the  ordinary 
size  of  man,  with  beautiful  symmetry  of  form  and  propor- 
tion, and  wonderful  suppleness  and  elasticity;  they  are 
pleasingly  erect  and  graceful,  both  in  their  walk  and  their 
attitudes ;  and  the  hair  of  the  men,  which  generally  spreads 
over  their  backs,  falling  down  to  the  hams,  and  sometimes 


270BTH  AMEBICAK  INDIANS. 


150 


to  the  ground,  is  divided  into  plaits  or  slabs  of  two  inches 
in  width,  and  filled  with  a  profusion  of  glue  and  red  earth 
or  vermilion,  at  intervals  of  an  inch  or  two,  which 
becoming  very  hard,  remains  in  and  unchanged  from  year 
to  year. 

This  mode  ■  dressing  the  hair  is  curious,  and  gives  to 
the  Mandans  the  most  singular  appearance.  The  hair  of 
the  men  is  uniformly  all  laid  over  from  the  forehead  back- 
wards; carefully  kept  above  and  resting  on  the  ear,  and 
thence  falling  down  over  the  back,  in  these  flattened 
bunches,  and  painted  red,  extending  oftentimes  quite  on  to 
the  calf  of  the  leg,  and  sometimes  in  such  profusion  as 
almost  to  conceal  the  whole  figure  from  the  person 
walking  behind  them. 

The  hair  of  the  women  is  also  worn  as  long  as  they  can 
possibly  cultivate  it,  oiled  very  often,  which  preserves  on 
it  a  beautiful  gloss  and  shows  its  natural  color.  They 
often  braid  it  in  two  large  plaits,  one  falling  down  just 
back  of  the  ear,  on  each  side  of  the  head;  and  on  any 
occasion  which  requires  them  to  ','  put  on  their  best  looks," 
they  pass  their  fingers  through  it  drawing  it  out  of  braid, 
and  spreading  it  over  their  shoulders.  The  Mandan 
women  observe  strictly  the  same  custom,  which  I  observed 
amongst  the  Crows  and  Blackfeet  (and,  in  fact,  all  other 
tribes  I  have  seen,  without  a  single  exception,)  of  parting 
the  hair  on  the  forehead,  and  always  keeping  the  crease  or 
separation  filled  with  vermilion  or  other  red  paint.  This 
is  one  of  the  very  few  little  (and  apparently  trivial)  customs 
which  I  have  found  amongst  the  Indians,  without  being 
able  to  assign  any  cause  for  it,  other  than  that  *'  they  axe 
Indians,"  and  that  this  is  an  Indian  fashion. 

In  mourning,  like  the  Crpws  and  most  other  tribes,  the 
women  are  obliged  to  crop  their  hair  all  off;  and  the  usual 
term  of  that  condolence  is  until  the  hair  has  grown  again 
to  its  former  length. 

When  a  man  mourns  for  the  death  of  a  near  relation  the 
case  is  quite  different ;  his  long,  valued  tresses,  are  of 


^     5<,    ,J 


^m 
•-f^ 


■I'lr 


Md 


160 


LETTERS  AWD  NOTES  ON  THE 


much  greater  importance,  and  only  a  lock  or  two  can  be 
spared.  Just  enough  to  tell  of  his  grief  to  his  friends, 
without  destroying  his  most  valued  ornament,  is  doing 
just  reverence  and  respect  to  the  dead. 

To  repeat  what  I  have  said  before,  the  Mandans  are  a 
pleasing  and  friendly  race  of  people,  of  whom  it  is  pro. 
verbial  amongst  the  Traders  and  all  who  ever  have  known 
them,  that  their  treatment  of  white  men  in  their  country 
has  been  friendly  and  kind  ever  since  their  first  acquain- 
tance with  them— they  have  ever  met  and  received  them, 
on  the  prairie  or  in  their  villages,  with  hospitality  and 
honor. 

They  are  handsome,  straight  and  elegant  in  their  forms, 
not  tall,  but  quick  and  graceful ;  easy  and  polite  in  their 
manners,  neat  in  their  persons  and  beautifully  clad. 
When  I  say  "  neat  in  person  and  beautifully  clad,"  how- 
ever, I  do  not  intend  my  readers  to  understand  that  such 
is  the  case  with  them  all,  for  among  them  and  most  other 
tribes,  as  with  the  enlightened  world,  there  are  different 
grades  of  society — those  who  care  but  little  for  their 
personal  appearance,  and  those  who  take  great  pains  to 
please  themselves  and  their  friends.  Amongst  this  class  of 
personages,  such  as  chiefs  and  braves,  or  warriors  of  dis- 
tinction, and  their  families,  and  dandies  or  exquisites  (a 
class  of  beings  of  whom  I  shall  take  due  time  to  speak  in  a 
future  Letter,)  the  strictest  regard  to  decency,  and  cleanli- 
ness and  elegance  of  dress  is  observed ;  and  there  are  few 
people,  perhaps,  who  take  more  pains  to  keep  their 
persons  neat  and  cleanly  than  they  do. 

At  the  distance  of  half  a  mile  or  so  above  the  village,  is 
the  customary  p''  ice  where  the  women  and  girls  resort 
every  morning  in  the  summer  months,  to  bathe  in  the 
river.  To  this  spot  they  repair  by  hundreds,  every 
morning  at  sunrise,  where,  on  a  beautiful  beach,  they  can 
be  seen  running  and  glistening  in  the  sun,  whilst  they  aro 
playing  their  innocent  gambols  and  leaping  into  the  stream. 
They  all  learn  to  swim  well,  and  the  poorest  swmmer 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS, 


161 


amongst  them  will  dash  fearlessly  into  the  boiling  and 
eddying  current  of  the  Missouri,  and  cross  it  with  perfect 
ease.  At  the  distance  of  a  quarter  of  a  mile  back  from  the 
river,  extends  a  terrace  or  elevated  prairie,  running  north 
from  the  village,  and  forming  a  kind  of  semicircle  around 
this  bathing-place ;  and  on  this  terrace,  which  is  some 
twenty  or  thirty  feet  higher  than  the  meadow  between  it 
and  the  river,  are  stationed  every  morning  several  sentinels, 
with  their  bows  and  arrows  in  hand,  to  guard  and  protect 
this  sacred  ground  from  the  approach  of  boys  or  men 
from  any  directions.  ^ 

At  a  little  distance  below  the  village,  also,  is  the  place 
where  the  men  and  boys  go  to  bathe  and  learn  to  swim. 
After  this  morning  ablution,  they  return  to  their  village, 
wipe  their  limbs  dry,  and  use  a  profusion  of  bear's  grease 
through  their  hair  and  over  their  bodies. 

The  art  of  swimming  is  known  to  all  the  American 
Indians ;  and  perhaps  no  people  on  earth  have  taken  more 
pains  to  learn  it,  nor  any  who  turn  it  to  better  account. 
There  certainly  are  no  people  whose  avocations  of  life  more 
often  call  for  the  use  of  their  limbs  in  this  way ;  as  many 
of  the  tribes  spend  their  lives  on  the  shores  of  our  vast 
lakes  and  rivers,  paddling  about  from  their  childhood  in 
their  fragile  bark  canoes,  which  are  liable  to  continual 
accidents,  which  often  throw  the  Indian  upon  his  natural 
resources  for  the  preservation  of  his  life. 

The  10  are  many  times  also,  when  out  upon  their  long 
marches  in  the  prosecution  of  their  almost  continued  war- 
fare, when  it  becomes  necessary  to  plunge  into  and  swim 
across  the  wildest  streams  and  rivers,  at  times  when  they 
have  no  canoes  or  Craft  in  which  to  cross  them.  I  have  as 
yet  seen  no  tribe  where  this  art  is  neglected.  It  is  learned 
at  a  very  early  age  by  both  sexes,  and  enables  the  strong 
and  hardy  muscles  of  the  squaws  to  tiike  their  child  upon 
the  l)ack,  and  successfully  to  pass  any  river  that  lies  in 
tlieir  way. 

The  mode  of  swimming  amongst  the  Mandaus,  as  well 

11 


m, 


''^k'&M 


..• ).. 


162 


LKTTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  TH. 


as  amongst  most  of  the  otbei*  tribes,  is  quite  different  from 
that  practiced  in  those  parts  of  the  civilized  world,  which 
I  have  had  the  pleasure  yet  to  visit.  The  Indian,  instead 
of  parting  his  hands  simultaneously  under  the  chin,  and 
making  the  stroke  outward,  in  a  horizontal  direction, 
causing  thereby  a  serious  strain  upon  the  chest,  throws 
his  body  alternately  upon  the  left  and  the  right  side, 
raising  one  arm  entirely  above  the  water  and  reaching  as 
far  forward  as  he  can,  to  dip  it,  whilst  his  whole  weight 
and  force  are  spent  upon  the  one  that  is  passing  under  him, 
and  like  a  paddle  propelling  him  along ;  whilst  this  arm 
is  making  a  half  circle,  and  is  being  raised  out  of  the  water 
behind  him,  the  opposite  arm  is  describing  a  similar  arch 
in  the  air  over  his  head,  to  be  dipped  in  the  water  as  far 
as  he  can  reach  before  him,  with  the  hand  turned  under, 
forming  a  sort  of  bucket,  to  act  most  effectively  as  it  passes 
in  its  turn  andorneath  him. 

By  this  bold  and  powerful  mode  of  swimming,  which 
may  want  the  grace  that  many  would  wish  to  see,  I  am 
quite  sure,  from  the  experience  I  have  had,  that  much  of 
the  fatigue  and  strain  upon  the  breast  and  spine  are  avoided, 
and  that  a  man  will  preserve  his  strength  and  his  breath 
mucli  longer  in  this  alternate  and  rolling  motion,  than  he 
can  in  the  usual  mode  of  swimming,  in  the  polished  world. 

In  addition  to  the  modes  of  bathing  which  I  have  above 
described,  the  Mandans  have  another,  which  is  a  much 
greater  luxury,  and  often  resorted  to  by  the  sick,  but  far 
more  often  by  the  well  and  sound,  as  a  matter  of  luxury 
only,  or  perhaps  for  the  purpose  of  hardening  their  limbs 
and  preparing  them  for  the  thousand  exposures  and  vicissi- 
tudes of  life  to  which  they  are  continually  liable.  I  allude 
to  their  vapor  baths,  or  sudatories,  of  which  each  village 
has  several,  and  which  seem  to  be  a  kind  of  public 
property — accessible  to  all,  and  resorted  to  by  all,  male 
and  female,  old  and  young,  sick  and  well. 

In  every  Mandan  lodge  is  to  bo  seen  a  crib  or  basket, 
much  in  the  shape  of  a  bathing-tub,  curiously  woven  with 


^ii.  .[ 


ITOBTH  AMEBICAN  INDIANS 


168 


willow  boughs,  and  sufficiently  large  to  receive  any  person 
of  the  family  in  a  reclining  or  recumbent  posture ;  which, 
when  any  one  is  to  take  a  bath,  is  carried  by  the  squaw  to 
the  sudatory  for  the  purpose,  and  brought  back  to  the 
wigwam  again  after  it  has  been  used. 

These  sudatories  are  always  near  the  village,  above  or 
below  it,  on  the  bank  of  the  river.    They  are  generally 
built  of  skins  (in  the  form  of  a  Crow  or  Sioux  lodge  which  I 
have  before  described),  covered  with  buffalo  skins  sewed 
tight  together,  with  a  kind  of  furnace  in  the  centre  ;  or  in 
other  words,  in  the  centre  of  the  lodge  are  two  walls  of 
stone  about  six  feet  long  an\i  two  and  a  half  apart,  and 
about  three  feet  high  ;  across  and  over  this  space,  between 
the  two  walls,  are  laid  a  number  of  round  sticks,  on  which 
the  bathing  crib  is  placed.    Contiguous  to  the  lodge,  and 
outside  of  it,  is  a  little  furnace  something  similar,  in  the 
side  of  the  bank,  where  the  woman  kindles  a  hot  fire,  and 
heats  to  a  red  heat  a  number  of  large  stones,  which  are 
kept  at  these  places  for  this  particular  purpose ;  and  having 
them   all  in   readiness,  she  goes  home  or  sends  word  to 
inform  her  husband  or  other  one  who  is  waiting,  that  all  is 
ready ;  when  he  makes  his    appearance  entirely  naked, 
though  with  a  large  buffijlo  robe  wrapped  around  him. 
He  then  enters  the  lodge  and  places  himself  in  the  crib  or 
basket,   either  on  his  back  or  in  a  sitting  posture  (the 
latter  of  which  is    generally  preferred),   with  his  back 
towards  the  door  of  the  lodge ;  when  the  squaw  brings 
in  a  large    stone    red  hot,    between  two  sticks  (lashed 
together  somewhat  in  the  form  of  a  pair  of  tongs)  and, 
placing  it  under  him,  throws  cold  water  upon  it,  which 
raises  a  profusion  of  vapor  about  him.    He  is  at  once 
enveloped  in  a  cloud  of  steam,  and  a  woman  or  chi-ld  will 
sit  at  a  little  distance  and  continue  to  dash  water  upon  the 
stone,  whilst  the  matron  of  the  lodge  is  out,  and  preparing 
to  make  her  appearance  with  another  heated  stone  :  or  he 
will  sit  and  dip  from  a  wooden  bowl,  with  a  ladle  made  of 
the  mountain-sheep's  horn,   and  throw  upon   the  heated 


-Ww^y. 


164 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


stones,  witli  his  own  bands,  the  water  which  he  is  drawing 
through  his  lungs  and  pores,  in  the  next  moment  in  the 
most  dcloctable  and  exhilarating  vapors,  as  it  distils 
through  the  mat  of  wild  sage  and  other  medicinal  and 
aromatic  herbs,  which  he  has  strewed  over  the  bottom  oi 
his  basket,  and  on  which  he  reclines. 

During  all  this  time  the  lodge  is  shut  perfectly  tight,  and 
he  quaffs  this  delicious  and  renovating  draught  to  his  lungs 
with  deep  drawn  sighs,  and  with  extended  nostrils,  until  he 
is  drenched  in  the  most  profuse  degree  of  perspiration  that 
can  be  produced ;  when  he  makes  a  kind  of  strangled 
signal,  at  which  the  lodge  is  opened,  and  he  darts  forth 
with  the  speed  of  a  frightened  deer,  and  plunges  headlong 
into  the  river,  from  which  he  instantly  escapes  again,  wraps 
his  robe  around  him  and  "  leans"  as  fast  as  possible  for 
home.  Here  his  limbs  are  wiped  dry,  and  wrapped  close 
and  tight  within  the  fur  of  the  buffalo  robes,  in  which  lie 
takes  his  nap,  with  his  feet  to  the  fire  ;  then  oils  his  limbs 
and  hair  with  bear's  grease,  dresses  and  plumes  himself  for 
a  visit — a  feast — a  parade,  or  a  council ;  or  slicks  down  his 
long  hair,  and  rubs  his  oiled  limbs  to  a  polish,  with  a  piece 
of  soft  buckskin,  prepared  to  join  in  games  of  ball  or 
Tchung-kee. 

Such  is  the  sudatory  or  the  vapor  bath  of  the  Mandans, 
and,  as  I  before  observed,  it  is  resorted  to  both  as  an  every- 
day luxury  by  those  who  have  the  time  and  energy  or 
industry  to  indulge  in  it ;  and  also  used  by  the  sick  as  a 
remedy  for  nearly  all  the  diseases  which  are  known 
amongst  them.  Fevers  are  very  rare,  and  in  foot  almost 
unknown  amongst  these  people :  but  in  the  few  cases  of 
fever  which  have  been  known,  this  treatment  has  been  ap- 
plied, and  without  the  fatal  consequences  wliich  we  would 
naturally  predict.  The  greater  part  of  their  diseases  are 
inflammatory  rheumatisms,  and  other  chronic  diseases ; 
and  for  these,  tliis  mode  of  treatment,  with  their  modes  of 
life,  does  admirably  well.  This  custom  is  similar  amongst 
nearly   all   of  these  Mis.souri   Indians,   and    amongst  the 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


165 


Pawnees,  Omahas,  and  Punclias  and  other  tribes,  who  have 
suffered  with  the  small-pox  (the  dread  destroyer  of  the 
ludian  race),  this  mode  was  practiced  by  the  poor  creatures, 
who  fled  by  hundreds  to  the  river's  edge,  and  by  hundreds 
died  before  they  could  escape  from  the  waves,  into  which 
they  had  plunged  in  the  heat  and  rage  of  a  burning  fever. 
Such  will  yet  be  the  scourge,  and  sucli  the  misery  of  these 
poor  unthinking  people,  and  each  tribe  to  the  Eocky 
Mountains,  as  it  has  been  with  ever_^  tribe  between  here 
and  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  White  men — whisky — tomahawks 
—scalping  knives — guns,  powder  and  ball — small-pox — 
debauchery— extermination. 


'^'^A 


.Lz.^s-i^:^-^^ 


•^m.i.i" 


i 


i 


■m4 


tM"        f 


r     I, 

If       1 1 

[    '      ^  -  ' 

it'/ 


mm 


LETTER  No.  XIV. 

MANDAN  VILLAGE,  UPPER  MISSOUBL 

Thk  Mandans  in  many  instances  dress  very  neatly,  and 
some  of  them  splendidly.  As  they  are  in  their  native 
state,  theif  dresses  are  all  of  their  own  manufacture ;  and  of 
course,  altogether  made  of  skins  of  different  animals 
belonging  to  those  regions.  There  is,  certainly,  a  reigning 
and  striking  similarity  of  costume  amongst  most  of  the 
North  Western  tribes ;  and  I  cannot  say  that  the  dress  of 
the  Mandans  is  decidedly  distinct  from  that  of  the  Crows 
or  the  Blackfeet,  the  Assinncboiiis  or  the  Sioux;  yet  there 
are  modes  of  stitching  or  embroidering,  in  every  tribe, 
which  may  at  once  enable  the  traveller  who  is  familiar 
(ICC) 


u.. 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


167 


with  their  modes,  to  detect  or  distinguish  the  dress  of  any 
tribe.  These  differences  consist  generally  in  the  fashions 
of  constructing  the  head-dress,  or  of  garnishing  their 
dresses  with  the  porcupine  quills,  which  they  use  in  great 
profusion. 

Amongst  so  many  different  and  distinct  nations,  always 
at  war  with  each  other,  and  knowing  nothing  at  all  of  each 
other's  languages;  and  amongst  whom,  fashions  in  dress 
seldom  if  ever  change ;  it  may  seem  somewhat  strange 
that  we  should  find  these  people  so  nearly  following,  or 
imitating  each  other,  in  the  forms  and  modes  of  their  dress 
and  ornaments.  This  must  however,  be  admitted,  and  I 
think  may  be  accounted  for  in  a  manner,  without  raising 
the  least  argument  in  favor  of  the  theory  of  their  having 
all  sprung  from  one  stock  or  one  family ;  for  in  their 
continual  warfare,  when  chiefs  or  warriors  fall,  their  clothes 
and  weapons  usually  fall  into  the  possession  of  the  victors, 
who  wear  them  ;  and  the  rest  of  the  tribe  would  naturally 
more  or  less  often  copy  from  or  imitate  them  ;  and  so  also 
in  their  repeated  councils  or  treaties  of  peace,  such  articles 
of  dress  and  other  manufactures  are  customarily  exchanged, 
which  are  equally  adopted  by  the  other  tribe;  and  con- 
sequently, eventually  lead  to  the  similiarity  which  we  find 
amongst  the  modes  of  dress,  &c.,  of  the  different  tribes. 

The  tunic  or  shirt  of  the  Mandan  men  is  very  similar  in 
shape  to  that  of  the  Blackfeet — made  of  two  skins  of  deer 
or  mountain-sheep,  strung  with  scalp-locks,  beads,  and 
ermine.  The  leggings,  like  those  of  the  other  tribes,  of 
whom  I  have  spoken,  are  made  of  deerskins,  and  shaped 
to  fit  the  leg,  embroidered  with  porcupine  quills,  and 
fringed  with  scalps  from  their  enemies'  heads.  Their 
moccasins  are  made  of  buckskin,  and  neatly  ornamented 
with  porcupine  quills; — over  their  shoulders  (or  in  other 
words,  over  one  shoulder  and  passing  under  the  other), 
they  very  gracefully  wear  a  robe  from  the  young  buffalo's 
back,  oilentimes  cut  down  to  about  half  its  original  size,  to 
make  it  handy  and  easy  for  use.    Many  of  these  are  also 


Si, 


,    t 


J*  fcl! 


I 


;  J. 


^'^''y* 


i'   tlf't 


ujm 


168 


LEITERS    AND  NOTKS   ON   THE 


fringed  on  O"^-  side  with  scalp  locks;  and  the  flesh  side  of 
the  skin  curiously  ornamented  with  pictured  representations 
of  the  creditable  events  and  battles  of  their  lives. 

Their  head-dresses  are  of  various  sorts,  and  many  of 
them  exceedingly  picturesque  and  handsome;  generally 
made  of  warcagles'  or  ravens'  quills  and  ermine.  These 
are  the  most  costly  part  of  an  Indian's  dross  in  all  this 
country,  owing  to  the  difliculty  of  procuring  the  quills  and 
the  fur.  The  war  oagle  being  the  ^Wara  avis,"  and  the 
ormine  the  rarest  animal  that  is  found  in  tho  country. 
The  tail  of  a  war-oagle  in  this  village,  pr-^vided  it  is  a 
jwrfect  one,  containing  some  six  or  eight  quills,  which  are 
denominated  first-rate  {dumes,  and  suitable  to  arrange  in  a 
head-dress,  will  purchase  a  tolerable  good  horse  (horses, 
however,  are  mucli  cheaper  here  than  they  tire  in  most 
other  countries).  I  have  had  abundant  opportunities  of 
learning  the  great  value  which  these  people  sometimes 
attach  to  .>uch  articles  of  dress  and  ornament,  as  I  have 
been  purchasing  a  great  many,  which  I  intend  to  exhibit 
in  my  Gallery  of  Indian  Paintings,  that  the  world  may 
examine  them  for  themselves,  and  thereby  be  enabled  to 
judge  of  the  fidelity  of  my  works,  and  the  ingenuity  of 
Indian  manufactures. 

Ill  those  purchases  I  have  often  been  surprised  at  the 
prices  demanded  by  them;  and  pcrliaps  T  could  not  recite 
a  better  instance  of  the  kind,  than  one  which  occurod  here 
a  few  days  since; — One  of  the  chiefs,  whom  I  had  painted 
at  full  length,  in  a  beautiful  costume,  with  head-dress  of 
^var  eagles'  ijuills  and  ermine,  extending  quite  down  to  his 
I'ec't;  and  whom  I  was  soliciting  for  the  purcliase  of  liis 
dress  complete,  was  willing  to  sell  to  me  all  but  the  head- 
dress; saying,  that  "he  could  not  part  with  that,  as  he 
Would  never  be  able  to  get  quills  and  ermine  of  so  good  a 
quality  to  make  another  like  it."  I  agreed  with  him,  how- 
(;ver,  for  the  rest  of  the  dress,  and  importuned  him,  from 
day  to  day,  for  the  head-dress,  until  he  at  length  replied, 
that,  if  I  must  have  it,  he  must  have  two  horses  for  it;  the 


NORTIT   AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


169 


bargain  was  instantly  struck — the  hoi-ses  were  procured  of 
the  Traders  at  twenty-five  dollars  each,  and  the  head-dress 
secured  for  my  Collection. 

There  is  occasionally,  a  chief  or  a  warrior  of  so  extra- 
ordinary renown,  that  ho  is  allowed  to  wear  horns  on  his 
head-dress,  which  give  to  his  aspect  a  strange  and  mnjestic 
eftect.  These  are  made  of  about  a  third  part  of  the  horn 
of  a  buffalo  bull ;  the  horn  having  been  split  from  end  to 
end,  and  a  third  part  of  it  taken  and  shaved  thin  and  light, 
and  highly  polished.  These  are  attached  to  tho  top  of  the 
head-dress  on  each  side,  in  tho  same  place  that  they  rise 
and  stand  on  the  head  of  a  buffalo ;  rising  out  of  a  mat 
of  ermine  skins  and  tails,  which  hang  over  the  top  of  the 
head-dress,  somewhat  in  the  form  that  the  large  and  profuse 
locks  of  hair  hang  and  fall  over  the  head  of  a  buffalo  bull. 

The  same  custom  I  have  found  observed  among  the 
Sioux,  the  Crows,  the  Blackfeet  and  Assinneboins,  and 
it  is  one  of  so  striking  a  character  as  needs  a  few  more 
words  of  observations.  There  is  a  peculiar  meaning  or 
importance  (in  their  estimation)  to  this  and  many  other 
curious  and  unaccountable  appearances  in  the  habits  of 
Indians,  upon  which  the  world  generally  look  as  things 
that  are  absurd  and  ridiculous,  merely  because  they  are 
beyond  the  world's  comprehension,  or  because  we  do  not 
stop  to  enquire  or  learn  their  uses  or  meaning. 

I  find  that  the  principal  cause  why  we  underrate  and 
despise  the  savage,  is  generally  because  we  do  i  it  under- 
stand him  ;  and  the  reason  why  we  are  ignorant  of  him  and 
his  mod^s,  is  that  we  do  not  stop  to  investigate — the  world 
liave  been  too  much  in  the  habit  of  looking  at  him  as 
altogether  inferior — as  a  beast,  a  brute;  and  unworthy  of 
more  than  a  passing  notice.  If  they  stop  long  enough  to 
form  an  acquaintance,  it  is  but  to  take  advantage  of  his 
ignorance  and  credulitiea — to  rob  him  of  the  wealth  und 
resources  of  his  country; — to  make  him  drunk  with 
whisky,  and  visit  him  with  abuses  which  in  his  ignorance 
he  never  thought  of.    By  this  method  his  first  visitors 


f  I 


•^,i 


i-      - 
r-      < 


1    ' 


r' 


170 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  TUB 


entirely  overlook  antl  never  understand  the  meaning  of  his 
thousand  interesting  and  characteristic  customs ;  and  at  the 
eamo  time,  by  changing  his  native  modes  and  habits  of  life, 
blot  them  out  from  the  view  of  the  enquiring  world  for 
ever. 

It  is  from  the  observance  of  a  thousand  little  and  appa- 
rently trivial  modes  and  tricks  of  Indian  life,  that  the 
Indian  character  must  bo  learned;  and,  in  fact,  it  is  just  the 
same  with  us  if  the  subject  wore  reversed :  excepting  that 
the  system  of  civilized  life  would  furnish  ten  apparently 
useless  and  ridiculous  trifles  to  one  which  is  found  in 
Indian  lifo ;  and  at  least  twenty  to  one  which  are  purely 
nonsensical  and  unmeaning. 

The  civilized  world  look  upon  a  group  of  Indians  in  their 
classic  dress,  with  their  few  and  simple  oddities,  all  of  which 
have  their  moral  or  meaning,  and  laugh  at  them  exces- 
sively, because  they  are  not  like  ourselves — we  ask,  "  why 
do  the  silly  creatures  wear  such  great  bunches  of  quills  on 
their  heads? — Such  loads  and  streaks  of  paint  upon  their 
bodies  and  bear's  grease?  abominable  I"  and  a  thousand 
other  equally  silly  questions,  without  ever  stopping  to 
think  that  Nature  taught  them  to  do  so — and  that  they  all 
have  some  definite  importance  or  meaning  which  an  Indian 
could  explain  to  us  at  once,  if  ho  were  asked  and  felt 
disposed  to  do  so — that  each  quill  in  his  head  stood,  in  the 
eyes  of  his  whole  tribe,  as  the  symbol  of  an  enemy  who  had 
fallen  by  his  hand — that  every  streak  of  red  paint  covered 
a  wound  which  ho  had  got  in  honorable  combat — and  that 
the  bear's  grease  with  which  he  carefully  anoints  his  body 
every  morning,  from  head  to  foot,  cleanses  and  purifies  the 
body,  and  protects  his  skin  from  the  bite  of  muscjuitocs 
and  at  the  same  time  preserves  him  from  colds  and  coughs 
■which  are  usually  taken  through  the  pores  of  the  skin. 

At  the  same  time,  an  Indian  looks  among  the  civilized 
world,  no  doubt,  with  equal,  if  not  much  greater,  astonisli- 
ment,  at  our  apparently,  as  well  as  really,  ridiculous 
customs  and  fashions ;  but  he  laughs  not,  nor  ridicules,  nor 


ikk  .1 


KORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


171 


questions, — for  his  natural  good  scnso  and  good  manners 
forbid  him, — until  he  is  reclining  about  the  fire-side  of 
his  wigwam  companions,  when  he  vents  forth  his  just 
criticisms  upon  the  learned  world,  who  are  a  rich  and  just 
theme  for  Indian  criticism  and  Indian  gossip. 

An  Indian  will  not  ask  a  white  man  the  reason  why  he 
does  not  oil  his  skin  with  bears'  grease,  or  why  ho  docs 
not  paint  his  body — or  why  he  wears  a  hat  on  his  head,  or 
why  ho  has  buttons  on  the  back  part  of  his  coat,  where 
tlicy  never  can  be  used — or  why  he  wears  whiskers,  and 
a  shirt  collar  up  to  his  eyes — or  why  he  sleeps  with  his 
head  towards  the  fire  instead  of  his  feet — why  he  walks 
with  his  toes  out  instead  of  tui-ning  them  in — or  why  it  is 
that  hundreds  of  white  folks  will  flock  and  crowd  round  a 
table  to  see  an  Indian  eat — ^but  he  will  go  home  to  his 
wigwam  fire-side,  and  "  make  the  welkin  ring"  with  jokes 
and  fun  upon  the  ignorance  and  folly  of  the  knowing  world. 
A  wild  Indian  thrown  into  the  civilized  atmosphere  will 
see  a  man    occasionally  moving  in    society,   wearing  a 
cocked  hat;  and  another  with  a  laced  coat  and  gold  or 
silver  epaulettes  upon  his  shoulders,  without  knowing  or 
enquiring  the  meaning  of  them,  or  the  objects  for  which 
they  are  worn.    Just  so  a  white  man  travels  amongst  a 
wild  and  untaught  tribe  of  Indians,  and  sees  occasionally 
one  of  them  parading  about  their  village,  with  a  headdress 
of  eagles'  quills  and  ermine,  and  elevated  above  it  a  pair 
of  beautifully  polished  buflalo  horns;  and  just  as  ignorant 
is  he  also,  of  their  meaning  or  importance ;  and  more  so, 
for  the  first  will  admit  the  presumption  that  epaulettes  and 
cocked   hats  amongst  the  civilized  World,  are  made  for 
some  important  purpose, — but  the  latter  will  presume  that 
horns  on  an  Indian's  head  are  nothing  more  nor  less  (nor 
can  they  be  in  their  estimation,)  than  Indian  nonsense  and 
stupidity. 

This  brings  us  to  the  "  corned  crest"  again,  and  if  the 
poor  Indian  scans  epaulettes  and  cocked  hats,  without 
enquiring  their  meaning,  and  explaining  them  to  his  tribe, 


li 


1         rn;iT'' 


172 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


it  is  no  reason  why  I  should  have  associated  with  the 
noble  dignitaries  of  these  western  regions,  with  horns  and 
ermine  on  their  heads,  and  then  to  have  introduced  the 
subject  without  giving  some  further  clue  to  their  import- 
ance and  meaning.  For  me,  this  negligence  would  be 
doubly  unpardonable,  as  I  travel,  not  to  trade  but  to  Iierald 
the  Indian  and  his  dying  customs  to  posterity. 

This  custom  then,  which  I  have  before  observed  belongs 
to  all  the  north-western  tribes,  is  one  no  doubt  of  very 
ancient  origin,  having  a  purely  classic  meaning.  No  one 
wears  the  head-dress  surmounted  with  horns  except  the 
dignitaries  who  are  very  high  in  authority,  and  whose 
exceeding  valor,  worth,  and  power  is  admitted  by  all  the 
nation. 

He  may  wear  them,  however,  who  is  not  a  chief;  but  a 
brave,  or  warrior  of  such  remarkable  character,  that  he  is 
esteemed  universally  in  the  tribe,  as  a  man  whose  **  voice 
is  as  loud  in  council"  as  that  of  a  chief  of  the  first  grade, 
and  consequently  his  power  as  great 

This  head-dress  with  horns  is  used  only  on  certain 
occasions,  and  they  are  very  seldom.  When  foreign  chiefs, 
Indian  agents,  or  other  important  personage  visit  a  tribe; 
or  at  war  parades,  at  the  celebration  of  a  victory,  at  public 
festivals,  &c.,  they  are  worn ;  but  on  no  other  occasions — 
unless,  sometimes,  when  a  chief  sees  fit  to  lead  a  war- party 
to  battle,  he  decorates  his  head  with  this  symbol  of  power, 
to  stimulate  his  men  ;  and  throws  himself  into  the  foremost 
of  the  battle,  inviting  his  enemy  to  concentrate  their  shafts 
upon  him. 

The  horns  on  these  head-dresses  are  but  loosely  attached 
at  the  bottom,  so  that  they  easily  fall  back  or  forward, 
according  as  the  head  is  inclined  forward  or  backward; 
and  by  an  ingenious  motion  of  the  head,  which  is  so  slight 
as  to  be  almost  imperceptible — they  arc  made  to  balance 
to  and  fro,  and  sometimes,  one  backward  and  the  other 
forward  like  a  horse's  ears,  giving  a  vast  deal  of  expression 
and  force  of  character,  to  the  appearance  of  the  chief  who 


NORTH  AMEUICAN  INDIANS. 


173 


is  wearing  them.  This,  reader,  is  a  remarkable  instance 
(like  hundreds  of  others),  for  its  striking  similarity  to  Jevrish 
customs,  to  the  kerns  (or  keren,  in  Hebrew,)  the  horns  worn 
by  the  Abysinian  chiefs  and  Hebrews,  as  a  symbol  of  power 
and  command ;  worn  at  great  parades  and  celebrations  of 
victories. 

"  The  false  prophet  Zedekiah,  made  him  horna  of  iron." 
(1  Kings  xxii.  11.)  "  Lift  not  your  horns  on  high ;  speak 
not  with  a  stiff  neck"  (Ps.  Ixxv.  5.) 

This  last  citation  seems  so  exactly  to  convey  to  my  mind 
the  mode  of  raising  and  changing  the  position  of  the  horns 
by  a  motion  of  the  head,  as  I  have  above  described,  that  I 
am  irresistibly  led  to  believe  that  this  custom  is  now 
practiced  amongst  these  tribes  very  nearly  as  it  was 
amongst  the  Jews ;  and  that  it  has  been,  like  many  other 
customs  of  which  I  shall  speak  more  in  future  epistles, 
handed  down  and  preserved  with  very  little  innovation  or 
change  from  that  ancient  people. 

The  reader  will  see  this  custom  exemplified  in  the 
portrait  of  Mah-to-toh-pa.  This  man,  although  the  second 
chief,  was  the  only  man  in  the  nation  who  was  allowed  to 
wear  the  horns;  and  all,  I  found,  looked  upon  him  as  the 
leader,  who  had  the  power  to  lead  all  the  warriors  in  timo 
of  war;  and  that,  Ii  consequence  of  tho  extraordinary 
battles  which  he  had  fought. 


1^1 


k 


I 


LETTER  NO.  XV. 
MANPAN  VILLAGE,  UPPER  MISSOURL 

A  WEEK  or  more  has  elapsed  since  the  date  of  my  last 
Letter,  and  nothing  as  yet  of  the  great  and  curious  event — 
or  the  Mandan  religions  ceremony.  There  is  evidently  much 
preparation  making  for  it,  however  ;  and  from  what  I  can 
learn,  no  one  in  the  nation,  save  \X\<i  medicine-men,  have  any 
knowledge  of  the  exact  day  on  which  it  is  to  commence. 
T  am  informed  by  the  chiefs,  that  it  takes  place  as  soon  as 
the  willow-tree  is  in  full  leaf;  for,  say  they,  "  the  twii^' 
which  the  bird  brought  in  was  a  willow  bough,  and  ha'l 
full-grown  leaves  on  it."  So  it  seems  that  this  cclcbratio:i 
lijus  some  relation  to  the  Flood. 
(174) 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


175 


This  great  occasion  is  close  at  hand,  and  will,  un- 
doubtedly, commence  in  a  few  days;  in  the  meantime  I 
will  give  a  few  notes  and  memorandums,  which  I  have 
made  since  my  last. 

I  have  been  continually  at  work  with  my  brush,  with 
fine  and  picturesque  subjects  before  me ;  and  from  the 
strange,  whimsical,  and  superstitious  notions  which  they 
have  of  an  art  so  novel  and  vnaccountable  to  them,  I 
have  been  initiated  into  many  of  their  mysteries — have 
witnessed  many  very  curious  incidents,  and  preserved 
several  anecdotes,  some  of  which  I  must  relate. 

Perhaps  nothing  ever  more  completely  astonished  these 
people  than  the  operations  of  my  brush.  The  art  of 
portrait-painting  was  a  subject  entirely  new  to  them,  and 
of  course,  unthought  of;  and  my  appearance  here  has 
commenced  a  new  era  in  the  arcana  of  medicine  or  mystery. 
Soon  after  arriving  here,  I  commenced  and  finished  the 
portraits  of  the  two  principal  chiefs.  This  was  done  with- 
out having  awakened  the  curiosity  of  the  villagers,  as  they 
had  heard  nothing  of  what  was  going  on,  and  even  the 
chiefs  themselves  seemed  to  be  ignorant  of  my  designs, 
until  the  pictures  were  completed.  No  one  else  waa 
admitted  into  my  lodge  during  the  operation ;  and  when 
finished,  it  was  excendingly  amusing  to  see  them  mutually 
recognizing  each  other's  likeness,  and  assuring  each  other 
of  the  striking  resemblance  which  they  bore  to  the  originals, 
Both  of  these  pressed  their  hand  over  their  mouths  awhile 
in  dead  silence  (a  custom  amongst  most  tribes,  when  .i.ny- 
tiling  surprises  them  very  much);  looking  attentively 
upon  the  portraits  and  myself,  and  upon  the  palette  and 
colors  with  which  these  unaccountable  effects  had  been 
produccil. 

They  then  walked  up  to  me  in  the  most  gentle  manner, 
taking  me  in  turn  by  the  hand,  with  a  firm  grip ;  with 
head  and  eyes  inclined  downwards,  and  in  a  tone  a  littlo 
above  a  whisper — pronounced  the  words  *'  Te-ho-pe-neo 
"Wash-ee  !"  and  walked  off. 


h- 


1.  ,  I, 


'%,#^!>ff.* 


i'.       ri 


176 


LEITKBS  AND  NOTES   ON  THE 


Keaders,  at  that  moment  I  was  christened  with  a  new 
and  a  great  name — one  by  which  I  am  now  familiarly 
hailed,  and  talked  of  in  this  village  ;  and  no  doubt  will  be, 
as  long  as  traditions  last  in  this  strange  community.  That 
moment  conferred  an  honor  on  me,  which  you  as  yet  do 
not  understand.  I  took  the  degree  (not  of  Doctor  of  Laws, 
nor  Bachelor  of  Arts)  but  of  Master  of  Arts— of  mysteries 
— of  magic,  and  of  hocus-pocus.  I  was  recognized  in  tliat 
short  sentence  as  a  "great  medicine  white  man:"  and 
since  that  time,  have  been  regularly  installed  medicine  or 
mystery,  which  is  the  most  honorable  degree  that  could 
oe  conferred  upon  me  here ;  and  I  now  hold  a  place 
amongst  the  most  eminent  and  envied  personages,  the 
doctor  and  conjurati  of  this  titled  community. 

To-ho-pe-nee  Wash-ee  (or  medicine  white  man)  is  the 
name  I  now  go  by,  and  it  will  prove  to  me,  no  doubt,  of 
more  value  than  gold,  for  I  have  been  called  upon  and 
feasted  by  the  doctors,  who  are  all  mystery-men  ;  it  has 
been  an  easy  and  successful  passport  already  to  many 
strange  and  mysterious  places ;  and  has  put  me  in  posscs,;ioii 
of  a  vast  deal  of  curious  and  interesting  information,  which 
I  am  sure  1  never  should  have  otherwise  learned.  I  am 
daily  growing  in  the  estimation  uf  the  medicine-men  and 
the  chiefs ;  and  by  assuming  all  the  gravity  and  circum- 
spcction  duo  from  so  high  a  dignitary  (and  even  con- 
siderably more);  and  endeavoring  to  perform  now  and 
then  sonic  art  or  trick  that  is  unfathomable,  1  am  in  hopes 
of  supporting  my  standing,  until  the  great  annual  ceremony 
commences ;  on  which  occasion,  I  may  possibly  be  allowed 
a  seat  in  the  medicinc-hdge  by  tlie  doctors,  who  are  tlie  solo 
conductors  of  this  great  source  and  fountain  of  all  priest- 
craft and  conjuration  in  this  country. 

After  I  had  fniished  the  portraits  of  the  two  chiefs,  and 
they  had  returned  to  their  wigwams,  and  deliberately 
Bcated  themselves  by  their  respective  firesides,  and  silently 
smoked  a  pipe  or  two  (according  to  an  universal  custom), 
the}  gradually  began  to  tell  what  had  taken  place;  and  at 


NORTH  AMEMCAN  INDIANS 


177 


length  crowds  of  gaping  listeiers,  with  mouths  wide  open, 
thronged  their  lodges ;  and  a  hrong  of  women  and  girl^ 
were  about  my  house,  and  through  every  crack  and  crevice 
I  could  see  their  glistening  eyes,  which  were  piercing  my 
hut  in  a  hundred  places,  fro  n  a  natural  and  restless 
propensity,  a  curiosity  to  see  \   lat  was  going  on  within. 

An  hour  or  more  passed  in  1  as  way,  and  the  soft  and 
silken  throng  continually  incre;  <ed,  until  some  hundreds 
of  them  were  clinging  about  my  wigwam  like  a  swarm  of 
bees  hanging  on  in  front  and  sid'  ^  of  their  hive. 

During  this  time,  not  a  .nan  made  his  appearance  about 
the  premises — after  awhile,  however,  they  could  be  seen 
folded  in  their  robes,  gradually  siding  up  towards  the 
lodge,  with  a  silly  look  upon  their  fjices,  which  confessed 
at  once  that  curiosity  was  leading  them  reluctantly,  where 
their  pride  checked  and  forbade  them  to  go.  The  rush 
soon  became  general,  and  the  chiefs  and  medicine-men 
took  possession  of  my  room,  placing  soldiers  (braves  with 
spears  in  their  hands)  at  the  door,  admitting  no  one,  but 
such  as  were  allowed  by  the  chiefs,  to  come  in. 

Monsr.  Kipp  (the  agent  of  the  Fur  Company,)  at  this  time 
took  a  seat  with  the  chiefs,  and,  speaking  their  language 
fluently,  he  explained  to  them  my  views  and  the  ctbjects  for 
which  I  was  painting  these  porUfi'ts;  and  also  expounded 
to  thorn  the  manner  in  which  they  were  made, — at  which 
they  seemed  all  to  be  very  much  pleased.  The  necessity 
at  this  time  of  exp  •  Ing  the  portraits  to  the  view  of  the 
crowds  who  were  assembled  around  the  house,  became 
imperative,  and  they  were  held  up  together  over  the  door, 
so  tliat  the  whole  village  had  a  chance  to  see  and  recognize 
their  chiefs.  The  effect  upon  so  mixed  a  multitude,  who  as 
yot  had  heard  no  way  of  accounting  for  them,  was  novel 
and  really  laughable.  The  likenesses  were  instantly 
reoDgni/ed,  and  many  of  the  gaping  multitude  commenced 
yelping;  some  were  stamping  off  in  the  jarring  dance — 
others  were  singing,  and  others  again  were  crying — 
hundreds  covered  their  mouths  with  their  hands  and  were 

12 


•^ 


S        iK 


178 


LETl'ERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


mute ;  others,  indignant,  drove  their  spears  frightlully  into 
the  ground,  and  some  threw  a  reddened  arrow  at  the  sun, 
and  went  home  to  their  wigwams. 

The  pictures  seen, — the  next  curiosity  was  to  see  the 
man  who  made  tliem,  and  I  was  called  forth.  I  stepped 
forth^  and  was  instantly  hemmed  in  by  the  throng.  Women 
were  gaping  and  gazing — and  warriors  and  braves  were 
ofiering  me  their  hands, — whilst  little  boys  and  girls,  by 
(■[(i/ens,  were  struggling  through  the  crowd  to  touch  mo 
^vith  the  ends  of  their  fingers;  and  whilst  I  was  engaged, 
from  the  waist  upwards,  in  fending  off  the  throiig  and 
shaking  hands,  my  legs  were  assailed  (not  unlike  the 
nibbling  of  little  fish,  when  I  have  been  standing  in  deep 
water)  by  children,  who  were  creeping  between  the  legs  of 
tfio  bystanders  for  the  curiosity  or  honor  of  touching  me 
V  ith  the  end  of  their  finger.  T'lc  eager  curiosity  and 
expression  of  astonishment  with  which  they  g:iz;ed  upon 
me,  plainly  shewed  that  they  looked  upon  me  as  some 
strange  and  unaccountable  being.  They  pronounced  mo 
the  greatest  medicine-man  in  the  world  ;  for  they  said  I  had 
made  licing  beings, — they  paid  they  could  see  their  chiefs 
alive,  in  two  places — those  that  I  had  made  were  a  little 
alive — they  could  see  their  eyes  move — could  see  them 
smile  and  laugh,  and  that  if  they  could  laugh  they  could 
certainly  speak,  if  they  should  try,  and  they  must  therefore 
have  some  life  in  them. 

The  squaws  generally  agreed,  that  they  had  discovered 
life  enough  in  them  to  render  my  medicine  too  great  for  the 
Mandans ;  saying  that  such  an  operation  could  not  be 
jxjrformcd  without  taki?ig  a'vay  from  the  original  some- 
thing of  his  existence,  »*  ich  i  put  in  the  picture,  and  they 
could  see  it  move,  couM  see  it  stir. 

This  curtailing  of  th  ;  primary  existence,  for  the  purpose 
of  instilling  life  into  the  secondary  one,  tliey  decided  to  be 
an  useless  and  dostructiv?  operatii-n,  an<l  one  which  was 
cumulated  to  do  great  niischiof  in  their  happy  community: 
and  they  commenced  a  mournful  and  doleful  chaunt  against 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


179 


me,  crying  and  weeping  bitterly  through  the  village, 
proclaiming  me  a  most  "  dangerous  man ;  one  who  could 
make  living  persons  by  looking  at  them ;  and  at  the  same 
time,  could,  as  a  matter  of  course,  destroy  life  in  the  same 
\vay,  if  I  chose.  That  my  medicine  was  dangerous  to  their 
lives,  and  that  I  must  leave  the  village  immediately. 
That  bad  luck  would  happen  xo  those  whom  I  painted — 
that  I  was  to  take  a  part  of  the  existence  of  those  whom  I 
painted,  and  carry  it  home  with  me  amongst  the  white 
people,  and  that  when  they  died  they  would  never  sleep 
quiet  in  their  graves." 

In  this  way  the  women  and  some  old  quack  medicine- 
men together,  had  succeeded  in  raising  an  opposition 
against  mc;  and  the  reasons  they  assigned  were  so 
plausible  and  so  exactly  suited  for  their  superstitious 
feelings,  that  they  completely  succeeded  in  exciting  fears 
and  a  general  panic  in  the  minds  of  a  number  of  chiefs 
who  had  agreed  to  sit  for  their  portraits,  and  my  operations 
were,  of  course,  for  several  days  completely  at  a  stand.  A 
grave  council  was  held  on  the  subject  from  day  to  day, 
and  there  seemed  great  difficulty  in  deciding  what  was  to 
be  done  with  me  and  the  dangerous  art  which  I  was 
practicing;  and  which  had  far  exceeded  their  original 
expectations.  I  finally  got  admittance  to  their  sacred  con- 
clave, and  assured  them  that  I  was  but  a  man  like 
themselves, — that  my  art  had  no  medicine  or  mystery  about 
it,  but  could  be  learned  by  any  of  them  if  they  would 
practice  it  as  long  as  I  had — that  my  intentions  towards 
tliera  were  of  the  most  friendly  kind,  and  that  in  the 
country  where  I  lived,  brave  men  never  allowed  their 
squaws  to  frighten  them  with  their  foolish  whims  and 
storio-s.  They  all  immediately  arose,  shook  me  by  the 
hand,  and  dressed  themselves  for  their  pictures.  After 
this,  there  was  no  further  difficulty  about  sitting  ;  all  were 
ready  to  be  painted, — the  squaws  were  silent,  and  my 
painting-room  a  continual  resort  for  the  chiefs,  and  braves, 
and  medicine- men;  where  they  waited  with  impatience  for 


1!:  \-)f:^i!>^^t 


( 


3  mm. 


180 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THK 


the  completion  of  each  one's  picture, — that  they  could 
decide  as  to  the  likeness  as  it  came  from  under  the  brush ; 
that  they  could  laugh,  and  yell,  and  sing  a  new  song,  and 
smoke  a  fresh  pipe  to  the  health  and  success  of  him  who 
had  just  been  safely  delivered  from  the  hands  and  the 
mystic  operation  of  the  "  white  medicine  ." 

In  each  of  these  operations,  as  they  successively  took 
place,  I  observed  that  a  pipe  or  two  were  well  filled,  and  as 
soon  as  I  commenced  painting,  the  chiefs  and  braves,  who 
sat  around  the  sides  of  the  lodge,  commenced  smoking  for 
the  success  of  the  picture  (and  probably  as  much  or  more 
so  for  the  safe  deliverance  of  the  sitter  from  harm  while 
under  the  operation) ;  and  so  they  continued  to  pass  the 
pipe  around  until  the  portrait  was  completed. 

In  this  way  I  proceeded  with  my  portraits,  stopping 
occasionally  very  suddenly  as  if  something  was  wrong,  and 
taking  a  tremendous  pufif  or  two  at  the  pipe,  and  streaming 
the  smoke  through  my  nostrils,  exhibiting  in  my  looks 
and  actions  an  evident  relief;  enabling  me  to  proceed  with 
more  facility  and  succoss, — by  flattering  and  complimenting 
each  one  on  his  good  looks  after  I  had  got  it  done,  and 
taking  them  according  to  rank,  or  standing,  making  it  a 
matter  of  honour  with  them,  which  pleased  them  exceed- 
ingly, and  gave  mo  and  my  art  the  stamp  of  respectability 
at  once. 

I  was  then  taken  by  the  arm  by  the  chiefs,  and  led  to 
their  lodges,  where  feasts  were  prepared  for  me  in  elegant 
style,  i.  e.  in  the  best  manner  which  this  country  affords ; 
and  being  led  by  the  arm,  and  welcomed  to  thcin  by 
gentlemen  of  high  and  exalted  feelings,  rendered  them  in 
my  estimation  truly  elegant. 

T  was  waited  upon  in  due  form  and  ceremony  by  the 
medicine-men,  who  received  me  upon  the  old  adage, 
"Similis  simili  gaudet."  I  was  invited  to  a  feast,  and  they 
presented  me  a  doctor's  rattle,  and  a  magical  wand,  or 
doctor's  staff,  strung  with  claws  of  the  grizzly  bear,  with 
hoofs  of  the  antelope — with  ermine — with  wild  sago  and 


t4..  I 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


181 


bat'B  winga — and  perftimed  wittal  with  the  choice  and 
savoury  odour  of  the  pole-cat— a  dog  was  sacrificed  and 
hung  by  the  legs  over  my  wigwam,  and  I  was  therefor  and 
thereby  initiated  into  the  arcana  of  medicine  or  mystery, 
and  considered  a  Fellow  of  the  Extraordinary  Society  of 
Conjurati. 

Since  this  signal  success  and  good  fortune  in  my  opera- 
tions, things  have  gone  on  very  pleasantly,  and  I  have  had 
a  great  deal  of  amusement.  Some  altercation  has  taken 
place,  however,  amongst  the  chiefs  and  braves,  with 
regard  to  standing  or  rank,  of  which  they  are  exceedingly 
jealous;  and  they  must  sit  (if  at  all)  in  regular  order, 
according  to  that  rank ;  the  trouble  is  all  settled  at  last, 
however,  and  I  have  had  no  want  of  subjects,  though  a 
great  many  have  again  become  alarmed,  and  are  unwilling 
to  sit,  for  fear,  as  some  say,  that  they  will  die  prematurely 
if  painted ;  and  as  others  say,  that  if  they  are  painted,  the 
picture  will  live  after  they  are  dead,  and  they  cannot  sleep 
quiet  in  their  graves. 

I  have  had  several  most  remarkable  occurrences  in  my 
painting-room,  of  this  kind,  which  have  made  me  some 
everlasting  enemies  here;  though  the  minds  and  feelings 
of  the  chiefs  and  medicine-men  have  not  been  afifected  by 
them.  There  has  been  three  or  four  instances  where  proud 
and  aspiring  young  men  have  been  in  my  lodge,  and  after 
gazing  at  the  })ortrait3  of  the  head  chief  across  the  room 
(which  sits  looking  them  in  the  eyes),  have  raised  their 
hands  before  their  faces  and  walked  around  to  the  side  of 
the  lodge,  on  the  right  or  left,  from  whence  to  take  a  long 
and  fair  side-look  at  the  chief,  instead  of  staring  him  full 
in  the  face  (which  is  a  most  unpardonable  offence  in  all 
Indian  tribes) ;  and  after  having  got  in  that  position,  and 
cast  their  eyes  again  upon  the  portrait  which  was  yet 
looking  them  full  in  the  face,  have  thrown  their  robes  over 
their  heads  and  bolted  out  of  the  wigwam,  filled  equally 
with  astonishment  and  indignation ;  averring,  as  they 
always  will  in  a  sullen  mood,  that  they  "  saw  the  eyes 


^'#-i||;'iv'i:i(«ij 


'^  ^1 


•r  .L '^ 


,..^'  ,i  m 


18a 


LETrERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


move," — that  as  they  walked  around  the  room  "the  eye^ 
of  the  portrait  followed  thoin."  With  these  unfortunate 
gentlemen,  repeated  efforts  have  been  made  by  the  Traders, 
and  al.~')  by  Mio  chiefs  and  doctors,  who  understand  the 
illusion,  to  convince  them  of  their  error,  by  explaining  the 
mystery;  but  'hey  will  not  hear  to  any  explanation  what- 
ever ;  saying,  that  "  what  they  see  with  their  eyes  is  alway.s 
evidence  enough  lor  them  ;"  that  they  always  "  believe 
their  ow  i  eyes  sooner  than  a  hundred  tongues,"  and  uU 
efforts  to  get  tiera  a  second  time  to  my  room,  or  into  my 
company  in  au^  place,  have  proved  entirely  unsuccessful. 

T  liad  trouble  brewing  also  the  other  day  from  another 
sou.  ;  one  of  tli )  "  "ledicmfs"  commenced  howling  and 
haranguing  around  my  domicil,  amongst  the  throng  that 
was  outside,  p  ■  'claiming  that  all  who  were  inside  and 
being  painted  wore  fools  and  \\  ould  soon  die ;  and  very 
materially  affecting  thereby  my  popularity,  I  however 
S(Mit  for  him  and  called  him  in  the  next  morning,  having 
only  tl.o  interpreter  vith  me;  telling  him  that  I  had  had 
mv  eye  upon  him  forsrcral  days,  and  had  been  so  well 
ph-astid  with  hia  looks,  that  I  had  taken  great  pains  to  find 
out  his  hlatory,  whi.;h  had  been  explained  by  all  as  one  of 
a  most  extraordinary  kmd,  and  his  character  and  ftanding 
in  his  tribe  as  worthy  of  my  particular  notice  ;  and  that  I 
had  Several  days  since  resolved  that  aa  soon  as  I  had 
practiced  my  hand  long  enough  upon  the  others,  to  get 
the  stiflhess  out  of  it  (after  paddling  my  canoe  so  far  as  I 
had)  and  make  it  to  work  easily  and  successfully,  I  would 
begin  on  his  portrait,  which  I  was  then  prepared  to 
comHicnce  on  that  <lay,  and  that  I  felt  as  if  I  could  do  him 
justice.  He  shook  mo  by  the  hand,  giving  mo  the 
"  Doctor's  grip,"  and  beckoned  me  to  sit  down,  which  I  did 
and  we  smoked  a  pipe  together.  After  this  was  over,  ho 
told  me,  that  "  he  had  no  inimical  feelings  towards  me. 
although  he  had  been  telling  the  chiefs  that  they  were  all 
fools,  and  all  would  die  who  had  their  portraits  painted — 
that  although  he  had  set  the  old  women  and  children  all 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


183 


crying,  and  cvon  made  some  of  the  young  warriors  tremile, 
yet  ho  had  no  unfriendly  feelings  towards  me,  nor  any  fear 
or  dread  of  my  art."  "  I  know  you  arc  a  good  man  (said 
he),  I  know  you  will  do  no  harm  to  any  one,  your  medicine 
is  great  and  you  are  a  great  'medicirj-man.'  I  would  like 
to  800  myself  very  well — and  so  would  all  of  the  chiefs ; 
but  they  have  all  been  many  days  in  this  medicinc-h<"iso, 
and  they  all  know  me  well,  and  they  have  not  asked  me  lo 
come  in  and  be  made  alive  with,  paints — my  frienii,  1  am 
glad  that  my  people  have  told  you  who  I  am— my  rt 
is  glad — I  will  go  to  my  wigwam  and  eat,  and  in  .>  ..alo 
while  I  will  come,  and  you  may  go  to  work ;" — another 
pipe  was  lit  and  smoked,  and  ho  got  up  and  went  off.  I 
prepared  my  canvass  and  palette,  and  whistled  away  the 
time  until  twelve  o'clock,  before  he  made  his  appearance  ; 
having  used  the  whole  of  the  fore-part  of  the  day  at  his 
toilette,  arranging  his  dress  and  ornamenting  his  body  for 
his  picture. 

At  that  hour  then,  bedaubed  and  streaked  with  paints 
of  various  colors,  with  bear's  grease  and  charcoal,  with 
medicine-pipes  in  his  hands  and  foxes'  tails  attached  to  his 
heels,  entered  Mah-to-he-hah  (the  old -bear),  with  a  train  of 
his  own  i)rofession,  who  seated  themselves  around  him ; 
and  also  a  number  of  boys,  whom  it  was  requested  should 
remain  with  him,  and  whom  I  supposed  it  possible  might 
liave  been  pupils,  whom  he  was  instructing  in  the  mysteries 
of  materia  medica  and  haca  poca.  lie  took  his  position  in 
the  middle  of  the  room,  waving  his  eagle  calumets  in  each 
li md,  and  singing  his  medicine-song,  which  he  sings  over 
Ills  dying  patient,  looking  me  full  in  the  face  until  I 
completed  his  picture,  which  I  painted  at  full  length.  His 
vanity  has  been  completely  gratified  in  the  operation ;  he 
lies  for  hours  together,  day  after  day,  in  my  room,  in  front 
of  his  picture,  gazing  intently  upon  it ;  lights  my  pipe  for 
inc  while  I  am  painting — shakes  hands  with  me  a  dozen 
times  on  each  day,  and  talks  of  me,  and  enlarges  upon  my 
medicine  virtues  and  my  talents,  wherever  he  goes;  so  tliat 


t'*.-; 


^h-^i 


^^^t^f¥^ 


Mr* 


'i 


'iP&i.<^ 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


1.0 


1.1 


11.25 


IM    12.5 


tm"^ 


11 


U    11.6 


Hiotograpliic 

Sdences 
Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER, NY.  M580 

(716)  873-4503 


4^ 


1S4 


LETTERS  AND  N0TE3. 


this  new  difficulty  is  now  removed,  and  instead  of  preach- 
ing against  me,  he  is  one  of  my  strongest  and  most  enthusi< 
astic  friends  and  aids  in  the  country. 

There  is  yet  to  be  described  another  sort  of  personage, 
that  is  often  seen  stalking  about  in  all  Indian  communities, 
a  kind  of  nondescript,  with  whom  1  have  been  somewhat 
annoyed,  and  still  more  amused,  since  I  came  to  this 
village,  of  whom  (or  of  which)  I  shall  give  some  account  in 
oiy  next  epistle. 


LETTER  No.XVL  .  :.    . 

MAND AN  VILLAGE,  UPPffiJ  JUISSOlTi?/. 

Besides  chiefs,  and  braves  and  doctors,  of  whom  I  have 
heretofore  spoken,  there  is  yet  another  character  of  whom 
I  must  say  a  few  words  before  I  proceed  to  other  topics. 
The  person  I  allude  to,  is  the  one  mentioned  at  the  close 
of  my  last  Letter,  and  familiarly  known  and  countenanced 
in  every  tribe  as  an  Indian  beau  or  dandy.  Such  person- 
ages may  be  seen  on  every  pleasant  day,  strutting  and 
parading  around  the  village  in  the  most  beautiful  and 
unsoiled  dresses,  without  the  honorable  trophies  however 
of  scalp-locks  and  claws  of  the  grizzly  bear  attached  to 
their  costume,  for  with  those  things  they  deal  not.  They 
are  not  peculiarly  anxious  to  hazard  their  lives  in  equal 
and  honorable  combat  with  the  one,  or  disposed  to  cross 
the  path  of  the-  other;  but  generally  remain  about  the 

(185) 


1'  -.  -«*W',.:: 


186 


LETTKRS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


village,  to  take  care  of  the  women,  and  attire  themselves  ia 
the  skins  of  such  animal  as  they  can  easily  kill,  without 
seeking  the  rugged  cliffs  for  the  war-eagle,  or  vbiting  the 
haunts  of  the  grizzly  bear.  They  plume  themselves  with 
swan's-down  and  quills  of  ducks,  with  braids  and  plaits  of 
sweet-scented  grass  and  other  hannless  and  unmeaning 
ornaments,  which  have  no  other  merits  than  they  them- 
selves have,  that  of  looking  pretty  and  ornamental. 

These  clean  and  elegant  gentlemen,  who  are  very  few  in 
each  tribe,  are  held  in  very  little  estimation  by  the  chiefs 
and  braves ;  inasmuch  as  it  is  known  by  all,  that  they  have 
a  most  horrible  aversion  to  nrms,  and  are  denominated 
"faint  hearts"  or  "old  women"  by  the  whole  tribe,  and 
are  therefore  but  little  respected.  They  seem,  however, 
to  be  tolerably  well  contented  with  the  appellation,  together 
with  the  celebrity  they  have  acquired  amongst  the  women 
and  children  for  the  beauty  and  elegance  of  their  personal 
appearance ;  and  most  of  them  seem  to  take  and  enjoy  their 
share  of  the  world's  pleasures,  although  they  are  looked 
upon  as  drones  in  society. 

These  gay  and  tinselled  bucks  may  be  seen  on  a  pleasant 
day  in  all  their  plumes,  astride  of  their  pied  or  dappled 
ponies,  with  a  fan  in  the  right  hand,  made  of  a  turkey's  tail 
— with  whip  and  a  fly-brush  attached  to  the  wrist  of  the 
same  hand,  and  underneath  them  a  white,  beautiful  and 
soft  pleasure-saddle,  ornamented  with  porcupine  quills  and 
ermine,  parading  through  and  lounging  about  the  village 
for  an  hour  or  so,  when  they  will  cautiously  bend  their 
course  to  the  suburbs  of  the  town,  where  they  will  sit  or 
recline  upon  their  horses  for  an  hour  or  two,  overlooking 
the  beautiful  games  where  the  braves  and  the  young 
aspirants  are  contending  in  manly  and  athletic  amusements; 
— when  they  are  fatigued  v,''th  this  severe  effort,  they  wend 
their  way  back  again,  '•  T  their  fine  white  saddle  of 
doe'sskin,  which  is  wada^v,  with  bufl&lo's  hair,  turn  out 
their  pony — take  a  little  refreshment,  smoke  a  pipe,  fan 
themselves  to  sleep,  and  doze  away  the  rest  of  the  day. 


NOBTH  AHEBICAK  INDIANS. 


187 


Whilst  I  have  been  painting,  from  day  to  day,  there 
have  been  two  or  three  of  these  fops  continually  strutting 
and  taking  their  attitudes  in  front  of  my  door ;  decked  out 
in  all  their  finery,  without  receiving  other  benefit  or  other 
information,  than  such  as  they  could  discover  through  the 
cracks  and  seams  of  my  cabin.    The  chiefs,  I  observed, 
passed  them  by  without  notice,  and  of  course,  without 
inviting  them  in;  and  they  seemed  to  figure  about  my 
door  from  day  to  day  in  their  best   dresses  and  best 
attitudes,  as  if  in  hopes  that  I  would  select  them  as  models, 
for  my  canvass.    It  was  natural  that  I  should  do  so,  for 
their  costume  and  personal  appearance  was  entirely  more 
beautiful  than  anything  else  to  be  seen  in  the  village.  ^  My 
plans  were  laid,  and  one  day  when  I  had  got  through  with 
all  of  the  head  men,  who  were  willing  to  sit  to  be  painted, 
and  there  were  two  or  three  of  the  chiefs  lounging  in  my 
room,  I  stepped  to  the  door  and  tapped  one  of  these  fellows 
on  the  shoulder,  who  took  the  hint,  and  stepped  in,  well- 
pleased   and  delighted  with  the    signal    and    honorable 
notice  I  had  at  length  taken  of  him  and  his  beautiful  dress. 
Readers,  you  cannot  imagine  what  was  the  expression  of 
gratitude  which  beamed  forth  in  this  poor  fellow's  face, 
and  how  high  his  heart  beat  with  joy  and  pride  at  the 
idea  of  my  selecting  him  to  be  immortal,  alongside  of  the 
chiefs    and  worthies  whose    portraits    he    saw  arranged 
around  the  room ;  and  by  which  honor  he,  undoubtedly, 
considered  himself  well  paid  for  two  or  three  weeks  of 
regular  painting,  and  greasing,  and  dressing,  and  standing 
alternately  on  one  leg  and  the  other  at  the  door  of  my 
premises. 

Well,  I  placed  him  before  me,  and  a  canvass  on  my 
easel,  and  "chalked  him  out"  at  full  length.  He  was 
truly  a  beautiful  subject  for  the  brush,  and  I  was  filled 
with  enthusiasm — his  dress  from  head  to  foot  was  of  the 
skins  of  the  mountain-goat,  and  dressed  so  neatly,  that 
they  were  almost  as  soft  and  as  white  as  Canton  crape — 
around  the  bottom  and  the  sides  it  was  trimmed  with 


188 


LKTTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


ennine,  and  porcupine  quills  of  beautiful  dyes  garnished  it 
in  a  hundred  parts ; — his  hair  which  was  long,  and  spread 
over  his  back  and  shoulders,  extending  nearly  to  the 
ground,  was  all  combed  back  and  parted  on  his  forehead 
like  that  of  a  woman.  Ho  was  a  tall  and  fine  figure,  with 
ease  and  grace  in  his  movements,  that  were  well  worthy  of 
a  man  of  better  caste.  In  his  left  hand  he  held  a  beautiful 
pipe — and  in  his  right  hand  he  plied  his  fan,  and  on  his 
wrist  was  still  attached  his  whip  of  elk's  horn,  and  his  fly. 
brush,  made  of  the  buffalo's  tail.  There  was  nought  about 
him  of  the  terrible,  and  nought  to  shock  the  finest,  chastest 
intellect. 

I  had  thus  fur  progressed,  with  high- wrought  feelings  of 
pleasure,  when  the  two  or  three  chiefs,  who  had  been 
seated  around  the  lodge,  and  whose  portraits  I  had  before 
painted,  arose  suddenly,  and  wrapping  themselves  tightly 
in  their  robes,  crossed  my  room  with  a  quick  and  heavy 
step,  and  took  an  informal  leave  of  my  cabin.  I  was 
apprehensive  of  their  displeasure,  though  I  continued  my 
work;  and  in  a  few  moments  the  interpreter  came 
furiously  into  my  room,  addressing  me  thus : — "  My  God, 
Sir  I  this  never  will  do ;  you  have  given  great  offence  to 
the  chiefs — they  have  made  complaint  of  your  conduct  to 
me — they  tell  me  this  is  a  worthless  fellow — a  man  of  no 
account  in  the  nation,  and  if  you  paint  his  picture,  you 
must  instantly  destroy  theirs ;  you  have  no  alternative,  my 
dear  Sir — and  the  quicker  this  chap  is  out  of  your  lodge 
the  better." 

The  same  matter  was  explained  to  my  sitter  by  the 
interpreter,  when  he  picked  up  his  robe,  wrapped  himself 
in  it,  plied  his  fan  nimbly  about  his  face,  and  walked  out 
of  the  lodge  in  silence,  but  with  quite  a  consequential 
smile,  taking  his  old  position  in  front  of  the  door  for 
awhile,  after  which  he  drew  himself  quietly  off  without 
further  exhibition.  So  highly  do  Mandan  braves  and 
worthies  value  the  honor  of  being  painted ;  and  so  little  do 
they  value  a  man,  however  lavishly  Nature  may  have 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


189 


bestowed  her  master  touches  upon  him,  who  has  not  the 
pride  and  noble  bearing  of  a  warrior. 

I  spoke  in  a  former  Letter  of  Mah-to-toh-pa  (the  four 
bears),  the  second  chief  of  the  nation,  and  the  most  popular 
man  of  the  Mandans — a  high-minded  and  gallant  warrior, 
as  well  aa  a  polite  and  polished  gentleman.  Since  I 
painted  his  portrait,  as  I  before  described,  I  have  received 
at  his  hands  many  marked  and  signal  attentions ;  some  of 
which  I  must  name  to  you,  as  the  very  relation  of  them 
will  put  you  in  possession  of  many  little  forms  and  modes 
of  Indian  life,  that  otherwise  might  not  have  been  noted. 

About  a  week  since,  this  noble  fellow  stepped  into  my 
painting-room  about  twelve  o'clock  in  the  day,  in  full  and 
splendid  dress,  and  passing  his  arm  through  mine,  pointed 
the  way,  and  led  me  in  the  most  gentlemanly  manner 
through  the  village  and  into  his  own  lodge,  where  a  feast 
was  prepared  in  a  careful  manner  and  waiting  our  arrival. 
The  lodge  in  which  he  dwelt  was  a  room  of  immense  size, 
some  forty  or  fifty  feet  in  diameter,  in  a  circular  form,  and 
about  twenty  feet  high — with  a  sunken  curb  of  stone  in 
the  centre,  of  five  or  six  feet  in  diameter  and  one  foot  deep, 
which  contained  the  fire  over  which  the  pot  was  boiling. 
I  was  led  near  the  edge  o*  this  curb,  and  seated  on  a  very 
handsome  robe,  most  ingeniously  garnished  and  painted 
with  hieroglyphics ;  and  he  seated  himself  gracefully  on 
another  one  at  a  little  distance  from  me;  with  the  feast 
prepared  in  several  dishes,  resting  on  a  beautiful  rush  mat, 
which  was  placed  between  us. 

The  simple  feast  which  was  spread  before  us  consisted  of 
three  dishes  only,  two  of  which  were  served  in  wooden 
bowls,  and  the  third  in  an  earthen  vessel  of  their  own 
manufacture,  somewhat  in  shape  of  a  bread-tray  in  our 
own  country.  This  last  contained  a  quantity  of  pemican 
and  marrow-fat;  and  one  of  the  former  held  a  fine  brace  of 
buffalo  ribs,  delightfully  roasted;  and  the  other  was  filled 
with  a  kind  of  paste  or  pudding,  made  of  the  flour  of  the 
"pommc  blanche"  as  the  French  call  it,  a  delicious  turnip 


1 


190 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


of  the  prairie,  finely  flavored  with  the  buffalo  berries, 
which  are  collected  in  great  quantities  in  this  country,  and 
used  with  divers  dishes  in  cooking,  as  we  in  civilized 
countries  use  dried  currants,  which  they  very  much 
resemble.  i 

A  handsome  pipe  and  a  tobacco-pouch  made  of  the  otter 
skin,  filled  with  k'nick-k'neck  (Indian  tobacco),  laid  by  tho 
side  of  the  feast ;  and  when  we  were  seated,  mine  host  took 
up  his  pipe,  and  deliberately  filled  it ;  and  instead  of 
lighting  it  by  the  fire,  which  he  could  easily  have  done,  he 
drew  from  his  pouch  his  flint  and  steel,  and  raised  a  spark 
with  which  he  kindled  it.  He  drew  a  few  strong  whiffs 
through  it,  and  presented  the  stem  of  it  to  my  mouth, 
through  which  1  drew  a  whiff  or  two  while  he  held  the 
stem  in  his  hands.  This  done,  he  laid  down  the  pipe,  and 
drawing  his  knife  from  his  belt,  cut  off  a  very  small  piece 
of  the  meat  from  the  ribs,  and  pronouncing  the  words 
"Ho-pe-ne-chee  wa-pa-shee"  (meaning  a  medicine  sacrifice), 
threw  it  into  the  fire. 

He  then  (by  signals)  requested  me  to  eat,  and  I  com* 
menced,  after  drawing  out  from  my  belt  my  knife  (which 
it  is  supposed  that  every  man  in  this  country  carries  about 
him,  for  at  an  Indian  feast  a  knife  is  never  offered  to  a 
guest).  Reader,  be  not  astonished  that  I  sat  and  ate  my 
dinner  alone,  for  such  is  the  custom  in  this  strange  land. 
In  all  tribes  in  these  western  regions  it  is  an  invariable 
rule  that  a  chief  never  eats  with  his  guests  invited  to  a 
ft.  it;  but  while  they  eat,  he  sits  by,  at  their  service,  and 
ready  to  wait  upon  them;  deliberately  charging  and 
lighting  the  pipe  which  is  to  be  passed  around  after  the 
feast  is  over.  Such  was  the  case  in  the  present  instance, 
ftnd  while  I  was  eating,  Mah-to-toh-pa  sat  cross-legged 
before  me,  cleaning  his  pipe  and  preparing  it  for  a  cheerful 
smoke  when  I  had  finished  my  meal.  For  this  ceremony  I 
observed  he  was  making  unusual  preparation,  and  I 
observed  as  I  ate,  that  after  he  had  taken  enough  of  the 
k'nick-k'neck  or  bark  of  the  red  willow,  from  his  pouch,  he 


NORTH  AMSBICAN  INDIANS. 


191 


rolled  out  of  it  also  a  piece  of  the  "c<M<or"  which  it  is 
customary  amongst  these  folks  to  carry  in  their  tobncco- 
saok  to  give  it  a  flavor ;  and,  shaving  ofif  a  small  quantity 
of  it,  mixed  it  with  the  bark,  with  which  he  charged  his 
pipe.  This  done,  he  drew  also  from  his  sack  a  small 
parcel  containing  a  fine  powder,  which  was  made  of  dried 
buffalo  dung,  a  little  of  which  he  spread  over  the  top, 
(according  also  to  custom,)  which  was  like  tinder,  having 
no  other  effect  than  that  of  lighting  the  pipe  with  ease  and 
satisfaction.  My  appetite  satiated,  I  straightened  up,  and 
with  a  whiflf  the  pipe  was  lit,  and  we  enjoyed  together  for 
a  quarter  of  an  hour  the  most  delightful  exchange  of  good 
feelings,  amid  clouds  of  smoke  and  pantomimic  signs  and 
gesticulations. 

The  dish  of  "pemican  and  marrow-fat,"  of  which  T  spoke, 
was  thus : — The  first,  an  article  of  food  used  throughout 
this  country,  as  familiarly  as  we  use  bread  in  the  civilized 
world.  It  is  made  of  buffalo  meat  dried  very  hard,  and 
afterwards  pounded  in  a  large  wooden  mortar  until  it  is 
made  nearly  as  fine  as  sawdust,  then  packed  in  this  dry 
state  in  bladders  or  sacks  of  skin,  and  is  easily  carried  to 
any  part  of  the  world  in  good  order.  "Marrow-fat"  is 
collected  by  the  Indians  from  the  buflEiIb  bones  which  they 
break  to  pieces,  yielding  a  prodigious  quantity  of  marrow, 
which  is  boiled  out  and  put  into  buffalo  bladders  which 
have  been  distended ;  and  after  it  cools,  becomes  quite  hard 
like  tallow,  and  has  the  appearance,  and  very  nearly  the 
flavor,  of  the  richest  yellow  butter.  At  a  feast,  chunks  of 
this  marrow-fat  are  cut  off  and  placed  in  a  tray  or  bowl, 
with  the  pemican,  and  eaten  together ;  which  we  civilized 
folks  in  these  regions  consider  a  very  good  substitute  for 
(and  indeed  we  generally  so  denominate  it)  "bread  and 
butter."  In  this  dish  laid  a  spoon  made  of  the  buffalo's 
horn,  which  was  black  as  jet,  and  beautifully  polished ;  in 
one  of  the  others  there  was  another  of  still  more  ingenious 
and  beautiful  workmanship,  made  of  the  horn  of  the 
mountain-sheep,  or  "Gros  com,"  as  the  French  trappers 


If.' 


192 


LKTTEBS  AND  KOTKS  ON  THE 


call  tbem ;  it  was  largo  enougli  to  hold  of  itself  two  or 
three  pints,  and  was  almost  entirely  transparent. 

I  spoke  also  of  the  earthen  dishes  or  bowls  in  which 
these  viands  were  served  out ;  they  are  a  familiar  part  of 
the  culinary  furniture  of  every  Mandan  lodge,  and  are 
manufactured  by  the  women  of  this  tribe  in  great  quantities, 
and  modelled  into  a  thousand  forms  and  tastes.  They  are 
made  by  the  hands  of  the  women,  from  a  tough  black  clay, 
and  baked  in  kilns  which  are  made  for  the  purpose,  and 
are  nearly  equal  in  hardness  to  our  own  manufacture  of 
pottery ;  though  they  have  not  yet  got  the  art  of  glazing, 
which  would  be  to  them  a  most  valuable  secret  They 
make  them  so  strong  and  serviceable,  however,  that  they 
hang  them  over  the  fire  as  we  do  our  iron  pots,  and  boil 
their  meat  in  them  with  perfect  success.  I  have  seen  some 
few  specimens  of  such  manufacture,  which  have  been  dug 
up  in  Indian  mounds  and  tombs  in  the  southern  and  middle 
states,  placed  in  our  Eastern  Museums  and  looked  upon  as 
a  great  wonder,  when  here  this  novelty  is  at  once  done 
away  with,  and  the  whole  mystery ;  where  women  can  be 
seen  handling  and  using  them  by  hundreds,  and  they  can 
be  seen  every  day  in  the  summer  also,  moulding  them  into 
many  fanciful  formd,  and  passing  them  through  the  kiln 
where  they  are  hardened. 

-  Whilst  sitting  at  this  feast  the  wigwam  was  as  silent  as 
death,  although  we  were  not  alone  in  it.  This  chief,  like 
most  others,  had  a  plurality  of  wives,  and  all  of  them  (some 
six  or  seven)  were  seated  around  the  sides  of  the  lodge, 
upon  robes  or  mats  placed  upon  the  ground,  and  not 
allowed  to  speak,  though  they  were  in  readiness  to  obey 
his  orders  or  commands,  which  were  uniformly  given  by 
signs  manual,  and  executed  in  the  neatest  and  most  silent 
manner. 

"When  I  arose  to  return,  the  pipe  through  which  we  had 
smoked  was  presented  to  me ;  and  the  robe  on  which  I  had 
sat,  he  gracefully  raised  by  the  comers  and  tendered  it  to 
me,  explaining  by  signs  that  the  paintings  which  were  on 


it  were 

be  had 

enemie; 

it  for  m 

to  pres 

describe 

he  took 

room. 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


193 


it  were  the  representations  of  the  battles  of  his  life,  where 
he  had  fought  and  killed  with  his  own  hand  fourteen  of  his 
enemies ;  that  he  had  been  two  weeks  engaged  in  painting 
it  for  me,  and  that  he  had  invited  mo  here  on  this  occasion 
to  present  it  to  me.  The  robe,  readers,  which  I  shall 
describe  in  a  future  epistle,  I  took  upon  my  shoulder,  and 
he  took  me  by  the  arm  and  led  me  back  to  my  painting- 
room. 


i:< 


\ . 


LETTER  No.  XVIL 


MANDAN  VILLAGE.  UPPER  MISSOURI. 


T  MENTioNKD  in  the  foregoing  epistle,  that  the  chiefs  of 
the  Mandans  frequently  have  a  plurality  of  wives.  Such 
is  the  custom  amongst  all  of  these  North  Western  tribes, 
and  a  few  general  remarks  on  this  subject  will  apply  to 
them  all,  and  save  the  trouble  of  repeating  them. 

Polygamy  is  countenanced  amongst  all  of  the  North 
American  Indians,  so  far  as  T  have  visited  them ;  and  it  is 
no  uncommon  thing  to  find  a  chief  with  six,  eight,  or  ten, 
and  some  twelve  or  fourteen  wives  in  his  lodge.  Such  is 
an  ancient  custom,  and  in  their  estimation  is  right  as  well 
as  necessary.  Women  in  a  savage  state,  I  believe,  are 
always  held  in  a  rank  inferior  to  that  of  the  men,  in 
relation  to  whom  in  many  respects  they  stand  rather  in  the 
light  of  menials  and  slaves  than  otherwise;  and  as  they  are 
the  "  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water,"  it  becomes  a 
(194) 


NORTH  AMERICAN  nn>IANB. 


196 


matter  of  neces-iity  for  a  obief  (who  must  be  liberal,  keep 
open  doors,  and  entertain,  for  the  support  of  his  popu* 
larity)  to  have  in  his  wigwam  a  sufficient  number  of  such 
handmaids  or  menials  to  perform  the  numerous  duties  and 
drudgeries  of  so  large  and  expensive  an  establishment 

There  are  two  other  reasons  for  this  custom  which 
operate  with  equal,  if  not  with  greater  force  than  the  one 
above  assigned.  In  the  first  place,  these  people,  though 
far  behind  the  civilized  world  in  acquisitiveness,  have  still 
more  or  less  passion  for  the  accumulation  of  wealth,  or,  in 
other  words,  for  the  luxuries  of  life ;  and  a  chief,  excited 
by  a  desire  of  this  kind,  together  with  a  wish  to  be  able  to 
furnish  his  lodge  with  something  more  than  ordinary  for 
the  entertainment  of  his  own  people,  as  well  as  strangers 
who  fall  upon  his  hospitality,  sees  fit  to  marry  a  number  of 
wives,  who  are  kept  at  hard  labor  during  most  of  the  year; 
and  the  avails  of  that  labor  enable  him  to  procure  thoso 
luxuries,  and  give  to  his  lodge  the  appearance  of  respecta- 
bility which  is  not  ordinarily  seen.  Amongst  those  tribes 
who  trade  with  the  Fur  Companies,  this  system  is  carried 
out  to  a  great  extent,  and  the  women  are  kept  for  the 
greater  part  of  the  year,  dressing  buffalo  robes  and  other 
skins  for  the  market;  and  the  brave  or  chief,  who  has  the 
greatest  number  of  wives,  is  considered  the  most  affluent 
and  envied  man  in  the  tribe;  for  his  taMe  is  most 
bountifully  supplied,  and  his  lodge  the  most  abundantly 
furnished  with  the  luxuries  of  civilized  manufacture,  who 
has  at  the  year's  end  the  greatest  number  of  robes  to  vend 
to  the  Fur  Company. 

The  manual  labor  amongst  savages  is  all  done  by  the 
women ;  and  as  there  are  no  daily  laborers  or  persons  who 
will  "  hire  oui^  to  labor  for  another,  it  becomes  necessary 
for  him  who  requires  more  than  the  labor  or  services  of 
one,  to  add  to  the  number  by  legalizing  and  compromising 
by  the  ceremony  of  marriage,  his  stock  of  laborers ;  who 
can  thus,  and  thus  alone,  be  easily  enslaved,  and  the  results 
of  their  labor  turned  to  good  account. 


}t:p^ 

i':  - 

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>  '■ 

M 

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Id 

m^ 

w.  - 


ii96 


LETTEES  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


There  is  yet  the  other  inducement,  which  probably  is 
more  eflfective  than  either ;  the  natural  inclination  which 
belongs  to  man,  who  stands  high  in  the  estimation  of  his 
people  and  wields  the  sceptre  of  power — surrounded  by 
temptations  which  he  considers  it  would  be  unnatural  to 
resist,  where  no  law  or  regulation  of  society  stands  in  tlie 
way  of  his  enjoyment.  Such  a  custom  amongst  savao'e 
nations  can  easily  be  excused  too,  and  we  are  bound  to  ex- 
cuse  it,  when  we  behold  man  in  a  state  of  nature,  as  he  was 
made,  fOfllowing  a  natural  inclination,  which  is  sanctioned 
by  ancient  custom  and  by  their  religion,  without  a  law  or 
regulation  of  their  society  to  discountenance  it ;  and  when, 
at  the  same  time,  such  an  accumulation  of  a  man's  house- 
hold, instead  of  quadrupling  his  expenses  (as  would  be  the 
case  in  the  civilized  world),  actually  becomes  his  wealth, 
as  the  results  of  their  labor  abundantly  secure  to  him  all 
the  necessaries  and  luxuries  of  life. 

There  are  other  and  very  rational  grounds  on  which  the 
propriety  of  such  a  custom  may  be  urged,  one  of  which  is 
as  follows : — us  all  nations  of  Indians  in  their  natural  con- 
dition are  unceasingly  at  war  with  the  tribes  that  are  about 
them,  for  the  adjustment  of  ancient  and  never-ending  feuds, 
as  well  as  from  a  love  of  glory,  to  which  in  Indian  life  the 
battle-field  is  almost  the  only  road,  their  warriors  are  killed 
off  to  that  extent,  that  in  many  instances  twc  and  some- 
times three  women  to  a  man  are  found  in  a  tribe.  In  such 
instances  I  have  found  that  the  custom  of  polygamy  has 
kindly  helped  the  community  to  an  evident  relief  from  a 
cruel  and  prodigious  calamity. 

The  instunces  of  which  I  have  above  spoken,  arc 
generally  confined  to  the  chiefs  and  medicine-men ;  though 
there  is  no  regulation  prohibiting  a  poor  or  obscure  indi- 
vidual from  marrying  several  wives,  other  than  the  personal 
difficulties  which  lie  between  him  and  the  hand  which  he 
wishes  in  vain  to  get,  for  want  of  sufficient  celebrity  in 
society,  or  from  a  still  more  frequent  objection,  that  of  his 
inability  (from   want  of  worldly  goods)  to  deal  in  the 


custom  ai 
would  aj 
There 
regions, 
one  wife 
tion,  and 
living  ur 
tented;  s 
life  and  t 
"Wives 
father,  as 
sold.    In 
alone,  wil 
and  seem 
contract  e 
he  can  poi 
to  be  sure 
the  expre 
arrangemc 
quite  as  i 
made  in  tl 
marriage  i 
of  making 
It  becoi 
necessity, 
regions  to| 
of  the  mc 
measure 
and  enablj 
connectior 
actions  wi| 
only  can 
are  excee( 
as  they 
slavish  du| 
other  circ 
are,  allowd 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


197 


customary  way  ■with  the  fathers  of  the  girls  whom  he 
would  appropriate  to  his  own  household. 

There  are  very  few  instances  indeed,  to  be  seen  in  those 
regions,  where  a  poor  or  ordinary  citizen  has  more  than 
one  wife ;  but  amongst  chiefs  and  braves  of  great  reputa- 
tion, and  doctors,  it  is  common  to  see  some  six  or  eight 
living  under  one  roof,  and  all  apparently  quiet  and  con- 
tented ;  seemingly  harmonizing,  and  enjoying  the  modes  of 
life  and  treatment  that  falls  to  their  lot. 

"Wives  in  this  country  are  mostly  treated  for  with  the 
father,  as  in  all  instances  they  are  regularly  bought  and 
sold.  In  many  cases  the  bargain  is  made  with  the  father 
alone,  without  ever  consulting  the  inclinations  of  the  girl, 
and  seems  to  be  conducted  on  his  part  as  a  mercenary 
contract  entirely,  where  he  stands  out  for  the  highest  price 
he  can  possibly  command  for  her.  There  are  other  instances 
to  be  sure,  where,  the  parties  approach  each  other,  and  from 
the  expression  of  a  mutual  fondness,  make  their  own 
arrangements,  and .  pass  their  own  mutual  vows,  which  are 
quite  as  sacred  and  inviolable  as  similar  assurances  when 
made  in  the  civilized  world.  Yet  even  in  such  cases,  the 
marriage  is  never  consummated  without  the  necessary  form 
of  making  presents  to  the  father  of  the  girl. 

It  becomes  a  matter  of  policy  and  almost  of  absolute 
necessity,  for  the  white  men  who  are  Traders  in  these 
regions  to  connect  themselves,  in  this  way,  to  one  or  more 
of  the  most  influential  families  in  the  tribe,  which  in  a 
measure  identifies  their  interest  with  that  of  the  nation, 
and  enables  them,  with  the  ifluence  of  their  new  family 
connections,  to  carry  on  successfully  their  business  trans- 
actions with  them.  The  young  women  of  the  best  families 
only  can  aspire  to  such  an  elevation ;  and  the  most  of  them 
are  exceedingly  ambitious  for  such  a  connection,  inasmuch 
as  they  are  certain  of  a  delightful  exemption  from  the 
slavish  duties  that  devolve  upon  them  when  married  under 
other  circumstances ;  and  expect  to  be,  as  they  generally 
arc,  allowed  to  lead  a  life  of  ease  and  idleness,  covered  with 


198 


LBTTEBS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


mantles  of  blue  and  scarlet  cloth — with  beads  and  trinkets 
and  ribbons,  in  which  they  flounce  and  flirt  about,  the 
envied  and  tinselled  belles  of  every  tribe. 

These  connections,  however,  can  scarcely  be  called 
marriages,  for  I  believe  they  are  generally  entered  into 
without  the  form  or  solemnizing  ceremony  of  a  marriage, 
and  on  the  part  of  the  father  of  the  girls,  conducted  purely 
as  a  mercenary  or  business  transaction ;  in  which  they  are 
very  expert,  and  practice  a  deal  of  shrewdness  in  exacting 
an  adequate  price  from  a  purchaser  whom  they  consider 
possessed  of  so  large  and  so  rich  a  stock  of  the  world's 
goods;  and  who  they  deem  abundantly  able  to  pay 
liberally  for  so  delightful  a  commodity. 

Almost  every  Trader  and  every  cJerk  who  commences 
in  the  business  of  this  country,  speedily  enters  into  such 
an  arrangement,  which  is  done  with  as  little  ceremony  as 
he  would  bargain  for  a  horse,  and  just  as  unceremoniously 
do  they  annul  and  abolish  this  connection  when  they  wish 
to  leave  the  country,  or  change  their  positions  from  one 
tribe  to  another ;  at  which  time  the  woman  is  left,  a  fair 
and  proper  candidate  for  matrimony  or  speculation,  when 
another  applicant  comes  along,  and  her  &ther  equally 
desirous  for  another  horse  or  gun,  &o.,  which  he  can  easily 
command  at  her  second  espousal.  >     - 

From  the  enslaved  and  degraded  condition  in  which  the 
women  are  held  in  the  Indian  country,  the  world  would 
naturally  think  that  theirs  must  be  a  community  formed  of 
incongruous  and  unharmonizing  materials;  and  conse- 
quently destitute  of  the  fine,  reciprocal  feelings  and 
attachments  which  Sow  from  the  domestic  relations  in  the 
civilized  world ;  yet  it  would  be  untrue,  and  doing 
injustice  to  the  Indians,  to  say  that  they  were  in  the  least 
behind  us  in  conjugal,  in  filial,  and  in  paternal  affection. 
There  is  no  trait  in  the  human  character  which  is  more 
universal  than  the  attachments  which  flow  from  these 
relations  and  there  is  no  part  of  the  human  species  who 


KORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


199 


have  a  stronger  aflfection  and  a  higher  regard  for  them 
thnn  the  North  American  Indians. 

There  is  no  subject  in  the  Indian  character  of  more 
importance  to  be  rightly  understood  than  this,  and  none 
cither  that  has  furnished  me  more  numerous  instances  and 
more  striking  proofe,  of  which  I  shall  make  use  on  a  future 
occasion,  when  I  shall  say  a  vast  deal  more  of  marriage — 
of  divorce — of  polygamy — and  of  Indian  domestic  relations. 
For  the  present  I  am  scribbling  about  the  looks  and  usages 
of  the  Indians  who  are  about  me  and  under  my  eye ;  and 
I  must  not  digress  too  much  into  general  remarks,  lest  I 
lose  sight  of  those  who  are  near  me,  and  the  first  to  be 
heralded. 

Such,  then,  are  the  Mandans — ^their  women  are  beautiful 
and  modest, — and  amongst  the  respectable  families,  virtue 
is  as  highly  cherished  and  as  inapproachable,  as  in  any 
society  whatever ;  yet  at  the  same  time  a  chief  may  marry 
a  dozen  wives  if  he  pleases,  and  so  may  a  white  man ;  and 
if  either  wishes  to  marry  the  most  beautiful  and  modest 
girl  in  the  tribe,  she  is  valued  only  equal,  perhaps,  to  two 
horses,  a  gun  with  powder  and  ball  for  a  year,  five  or  six 
pounds  of  beads,  a  couple  of  gallons  of  whisky,  and  a 
handful  of  awls. 

The  girls  of  this  tribe,  like  those  of  most  of  these  north- 
western tribes,  marry  at  the  age  of  twelve  or  fourteen,  and 
some  at  the  age  of  eleven  years ;  and  their  beauty  from 
this  fact,  as  well  as  from  the  slavish  life  they  lead,  soon 
after  marriage  vanishes.  Their  occupations  are  almost 
continual,  and  they  seem  to  go  industriously  at  them,  as 
if  from  choice  or  inclination,  without  a  murmur. 

Tho  principal  occupations  of  the  women  in  this  village, 
consist  in  procuring  wood  and  water,  in  cooking,  dressing 
robes  and  other  skins,  in  drying  meat  and  wild  fruit,  and 
raising  corn  (maize).  The  Mandans  are  somewhat  of 
agriculturists,  as  they  raise  a  great  deal  of  com  and  some 
pumpkins  and  squashes.  This  is  all  done  by  the  women, 
who  make  their  hoes  of  the  shoulder-blade  of  the  buffalo 


1 

I 

I;  '''.■ 


,  (. 


n 


% 


200 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


or  the  elk,  and  dig  the  ground  over  instead  of  ploughing  it, 
which  is  consequently  done  with  a  vast  deal  of  labor. 
They  raise  a  very  small  sort  of  corn,  the  ears  of  which  aro 
not  longer  than  a  man's  thumb.  This  variety  is  well 
adapted  to  their  climate,  as  it  ripens  sooner  than  other 
varieties,  which  would  not  mature  in  so  cold  a  latitude. 
The  green  corn  season  is  one  of  great  festivity  with  them, 
and  one  of  much  importance.  The  greater  part  of  their 
crop  is  eaten  during  these  festivals,  and  the  remainder  is 
gathered  and  dried  on  the  cob,  before  it  has  ripened,  and 
packed  away  in  ^'caches'*  (as  the  French  call  them),  holes 
dug  in  the  ground,  some  six  or  seven  feet  deep,  the  insides 
of  which  are  somewhat  in  the  form  of  a  jug,  and  tightly 
closed  at  the  top.  The  com,  and  even  dried  meat  and 
pemican,  are  placed  in  these  caches,  being  packed  tight 
around  the  sides,  with  prairie  grass,  and  effectually  pre- 
served through  the  severest  winters. 

Corn  and  dried  meat  are  generally  laid  in  in  the  fall,  in 
sufficient  quantities  to  support  them  through  the  winter. 
These  are  the  principal  articles  of  food  during  that  long 
and  inclement  season ;  and  in  addition  to  them,  they 
oftentimes  have  in  store  great  quantities  of  dried  squashes 
and  dried  -'■  pommes  blanches,'"  a  kind  of  turnip  which  grows 
in  great  abundance  in  these  regions,  and  of  which  I  have 
before  spoken.  These  are  dried  in  great  quanties,  and 
pounded  into  a  sort  of  meal,  and  cooked  with  the  dried 
meat  and  corn.  Great  quantities  also  of  wild  fruit  of 
different  kinds  are  dried  and  laid  away  in  store  for  the 
winter  season,  such  as  buffalo  berries,  service  berries, 
strawberries,  and  wild  plums. 

The  buffalo  meat,  however,  is  the  great  staple  and  "  staff 
of  life"  in  this  country,  and  seldom  (if  ever)  fails  to  afford 
them  an  abundant  and  wholesome  means  of  subsistence. 
There  are,  from  a  fair  computation,  something  like  two 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  Indians  in  these  western 
regions,  who  live  almost  exclusively  on  the  flesh  of  these 
animals,  through  every  part  of  the    year.    During    the 


commun 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


201 


flummer  and  fall  months  they  use  the  meat  fresh,  and  cook 
it  in  a  great  variety  of  ways,  by  roasting,  broiling,  boiling, 
stewing,  smoking,  &c., ;  and  by  boiling  the  ribs  and  joints 
with  the  marrow  in  them,  make  a  delicious  soup,  which  is 
universally  used,  and  in  vast  quantities.  The  Mandans,  I 
find,  have  no  regular  or  stated  times  for  their  meals,  but 
generally  eat  about  twice  in  the  twenty-four  hours.  The 
pot  is  always  boiling  over  the  fire,  and  any  one  who  is 
hungry  (either  of  the  household  or  from  any  other  part  of 
the  village)  has  a  right  to  order  it  taken  off,  and  to  fall  to 
eating  as  he  pleases.  Such  is  an  unvarying  custom 
amongst  the  North  American  Indians,  and  I  very  much 
doubt,  whether  the  civilized  world  have  in  their  institutions 
any  system  which  can  properly  be  called  more  humane 
and  charitable.  Every  man,  woman,  or  child  in  Indian 
communities  is  allowed  to  enter  any  one's  lodge,  and  even 
that  of  the  chief  of  the  nation,  and  eat  when  they  are 
hungry,  provided  misfortune  or  necessity  has  driven  them 
to  it.  Even  so  can  the  poorest  and  most  worthless  drone 
of  the  nation ;  if  he  is  too  lazy  to  hunt  or  to  supply  him- 
self, he  can  walk  into  any  lodge  and  every  one  will  share 
with  him  as  long  as  there  is  anything  to  eat.  He,  how- 
ever, who  thus  begs  when  he  is  able  to  hunt,  pays  dear 
for  his  meat,  for  he  is  stigmatized  with  the  disgraceful 
epithet  of  a  poltroon  and  a  beggar. 

The  Mandans,  like  all  other  tribes,  sit  at  their  meals 
crossed-legged,  or  rather  with  their  ancles  crossed  in  front 
of  them,  and  both  feet  drawn  close  under  their  bodies ;  or, 
which  is  very  often  the  case  also,  take  their  meals  in  a 
reclining  posture,  with  the  legs  thrown  out,  and  the  body 
resting  on  one  elbow  and  fore-arm,  which  are  under  them. 
The  dishes  from  which  they  eat  are  invariably  on  the 
ground  or  floor  of  the  lodge,  and  the  group  resting  on 
buffalo  robes  or  mats  of  various  structure  and  manufacture. 

The  position  in  which  the  women  sit  at  their  meals  and 
on  other  occasions  is  different  from  that  of  the  men,  and 
one  which  they  take  and  rise  from  again,  with  great  ease 


202 


LKTTEBS  AND  NOTES  ON  THK 


and  much  grace,  by  merely  bending  the  knees  both 
together,  inclining  the  body  back  and  the  head  and 
Bhoulders  quite  forward,  they  squat  entirely  dows  to  the 
ground,  inclining  both  feet  either  to  the  right  or  the  left. 
In  this  position  they  always  rest  while  eating,  and  it  is 
both  modest  and  graceful,  for  they  seem,  with  apparent 
ease,  to  assume  the  position  and  rise  out  of  it,  without 
using  their  hands  in  any  way  to  assist  them. 
>  These  women,  however,  although  graceful  and  civil,  and 
ever  so  beautiful  or  ever  so  hungry,  are  not  allowed  to  sit 
in  the  same  group  with  the  men  while  at  their  meals.  So 
far  as  I  have  yet  travelled  in  the  Indian  country,  I  never 
have  seen  an  Indian  woman  eating  with  her  husband. 
Men  form  the  first  group  at  the  banquet,  and  women,  and 
children  and  dogs  all  come  together  at  the  next,  and  these 
gormandize  and  glut  themselves  to  an  enormous  extent, 
though  the  men  very  seldom  do. 

It  is  time  that  an  error  on  this  subject,  which  has  gone 
generally  abroad  in  the  world,  was  corrected.  It  is  every- 
where asserted,  and  almost  universally  belived,  that  the 
Indians  are  "  enormous  eaters ;"  but  comparatively  speak- 
ing, I  assure  my  readers  that  this  is  an  error.  I  venture 
to  say  that  there  are  no  persons  on  earth  who  practice 
greater  prudence  and  self-denial,  than  the  men  do  (amongst 
the  wild  Indians,)  who  are  constantly  in  war  and  in  the 
chase,  or  in  their  athletic  sports  and  exercises ;  for  all  of 
which  they  are  excited  by  the  highest  ideas  of  pride  and 
honor,  and  every  kind  of  excess  is  studiously  avoided ;  and 
for  a  very  great  part  of  their  lives,  the  most  painful  absti- 
nence is  enforced  upon  themselves,  for  the  purpose  of  pre- 
paring their  bodies  and  their  limbs  for  these  extravagant 
exertions.  Many  a  man  who  has  been  a  few  weeks  along 
the  frontier,  amongst  the  drunken,  naked  and  beggared 
part  of  the  Indian  race,  and  run  home  and  written  a  book 
on  Indians,  has,  no  doubt,  often  seen  them  eat  to  beastly 
excess;  and  ho  has  seen  them  also  guzzle  whisky  (and 
perhaps  sold  it  to  them)  till  he  has  seen  them  glutted  and 


so,  it  isl 


KOBTH  AMERICAN  INDIAITS. 


208 


besotted,  without  will  or  energy  to  move ;  and  many  and 
thousands  of  such  things  oan  always  be  seen,  where  white 
people  have  made  beggars  of  them,  and  they  have  nothing 
to  do  but  lie  under  a  fenoe  and  beg  a  whole  week  to  get 
meat  and  whisky  enough  for  one  feast  and  one  carouse ; 
but  amongst  the  wild  Indians  in  this  country  there  are  no 
beggars — no  drunkards — and  every  man,  from  a  beautiful 
natural  precept,  studies  to  keep  his  body  and  mind  in  such 
a  healthy  shape  and  condition  as  will  at  all  times  enable 
him  to  use  his  weapons  in  self-defence,  or  struggle  for  the 
prize  in  their  manly  games. 

As  I  before  observed,  these  men  generally  eat  but  twice  a 
day,  and  many  times  not  more  than  once,  and  those  meals 
are  light  and  simple  compared  with  the  meals  that  are 
swallowed  in  the  civilized  world ;  and  by  the  very  people 
also,  who  sit  at  the  festive  board  three  times  a  day,  making 
a  jest  of  the  Indian  for  his  eating,  when  they  actually 
guzzle  more  liquids,  besides  their  eating,  than  would  fill 
the  stomach  of  an  Indian,     s  rj  n  .<  r*  '    i  i  >    * 

There  are,  however,  many  seasons  and  occasions  in  the 
year  with  all  Indians,  when  they  fast  for  several  days  in 
succession ;  and  others  where  thoy  can  get  nothing  to  eat ; 
and  at  such  times  (their  habits  are  such)  they  may  be  seen 
to  commence  with  an  enormous  meal,  and  because  they  do 
so,  it  is  an  insufficient  reason  why  we  should  for  ever 
remain  under  so  egregious  an  error  with  regard  to  a 
single  custom  of  these  people. 

I  have  seen  so  many  of  these,  and  lived  with  them,  and 
travelled  with  them,  and  oftentimes  felt  as  if  I  should 
starve  to  death  on  an  equal  allowance,  that  I  am  fully 
convinced  I  am  correct  in  saying  that  the  North  American 
Indians,  taking  them  in  the  aggregate,  even  where  they 
have  an  abundance  to  subsist  on,  eat  less  than  any  civil- 
ized population  of  equal  numbers,  that  I  have  ever 
travelled  amongst. 

Their  mode  of  curing  and  preserving  the  buffalo  meat  is 
somewhat  curious,  and  in  fact  it  is  almost  incredible  also ' 


204 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


for  it  is  all  cured  or  dried  in  the  sun,  without  the  aid  of 
salt  or  smoke  1  The  method  of  doing  this  is  the  same 
amongst  all  the  tribes,  from  this  to  the  Mexican  Provinces, 
and  is  as  follows : — The  choicest  parts  of  the  flesh  from  the 
buffalo  are  cut  out  by  the  squaws,  and  carried  home  on 
their  backs  or  on  horses,  and  there  cut  •'  acrosa  the  grain," 
in  such  a  manner  as  will  take  alternately  the  layers  of  lean 
and  fat ;  and  having  prepared  it  all  in  this  way,  in  strips 
about  half  an  inch  in  thickness,  it  is  hung  up  by  hundreds 
and  thousands  of  pounds  on  poles  resting  on  crotches,  out 
of  the  reach  of  dogs  or  wolves,  and  exposed  to  the  rays  of 
the  sun  for  several  days,  wlien  it  becomes  so  effectually 
dried,  that  it  can  be  carried  to  any  part  of  the  world 
without  damage.  This  seems  almost  an  unaccountable 
thing,  and  the  more  so,  as  it  is  done  in  the  hottest  months 
of  the  year,  and  also  in  all  the  different  latitudes  of  an 
Indian  country. 

So  singular  a  fact  as  this  can  only  be  accounted  for,  I 
consider,  on  the  ground  of  the  extraordinary  rarity  and 
purity  of  the  air  which  we  meet  with  in  these  vast  tracts 
of  country,  which  are  now  properly  denominated  "  the 
great  buffalo  plains,"  a  series  of  exceedingly  elevated 
plateaus  of  steppes  or  prairies^  lying  at  and  near  the  base  of 
the  Bocky  Mountains. 

It  is  a  fact  then,  which  I  presume  will  be  new  to  most  of 
the  world,  that  meat  can  be  cured  in  the  sun  without  the 
aid  of  smoke  or  salt;  and  it  is  a  fact  equally  true  and 
equally  surprising  also,  that  none  of  these  tribes  use  salt  in 
any  way,  although  their  country  abounds  in  salt  springs; 
and  in  many  places,  in  the  frequent  walks  of  the  Indian, 
the  prairie  may  be  seen,  for  miles  together,  covered  with 
an  incrustation  of  salt  as  white  as  the  drifted  snow. 

I  have,  in  travelling  with  Indians,  encamped  by  such 
places,  where  they  have  cooked  and  eaten  their  meat,  when 
I  have  been  unable  to  prevail  on  them  to  use  salt  in  any 
quantity  whatever.  The  Indians  cook  their  meat  more 
than  the  civilized  people  do,  and  I  have  long  since  learned. 


f=:=- 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


205 


from  necessity,  that  meat  thus  cooked  can  easily  be  eaten 
and  relished  too,  without  salt  or  other  condiment. 

The  fact  above  asserted  applies  exclusively  to  those 
tribes  of  Indians  which  I  have  found  in  their  primitive 
state,  living  entirely  on  meat ;  but  everywhere  along  our 
frontier,  where  the  game  of  the  country  has  long  since 
been  chiefly  destroyed,  and  these  people  have  become 
semi-civilized,  raising  and  eating,  as  we  do,  a  variety  of 
vegetable  food,  they  use  (and  no  doubt  require,)  a  great 
deal  of  salt ;  and  in  many  instances  use  it  even  to  destruc- 
tive excess. 


(') 


^-^'r^:. 


'VI ! 


V 


LETTER  No.  XVm.        ^>     ' 
MANDAN  VILLAQB,  VPPER  MISSOURI. 

Thk  MandanB,  like  all  other  tribes  lead  lives  of  idleness 
and  leisure ;  and  of  course,  devote  a  great  deal  of  time  to 
their  sports  and  amusements,  of  which  they  have  a  great 
variety.  Of  these,  dancing  is  one  of  the  principal,  and 
may  be  seen  in  a  variety  of  forms:  such  as  the  buffalo 
dance,  the  boasting  dance,  the  begging  dance,  the  scalp 
dance,  and  a  dozen  other  kinds  of  dances,  all  of  which 
have  their  peculiar  characters  and  meanings  or  objects. 

These  exercises  are  exceedingly  grotesque  in  their 
appearance,  and  to  the  eye  of  a  traveller  who  knows  not 
their  meaning  or  importance,  they  are  an  uncouth  and 
frightful  display  of  starts,  and  jumps,  and  yelps,  and 
jarring  gutturals,  which  are  sometimes  truly  terrifying- 
206 


NORTH   AMERICAN  IVDTAVS. 


207 


lliit  when  one  gives  them  a  little  attention,  and  has  been 
lu<-ky  enough  to  be  initiated  into  ilioir  myateriou-i  ineaJiing 
tlioy  become  a  subject  of  the  most  intense  and  exciting 
interest.  Every  dance  has  its  peculiar  step,  and  every  step 
hoa  its  moaning ;  every  danoe,  also,  has  its  peculiar  song, 
and  that  is  so  intricate  and  mysterious  oftentimes,  that  not 
one  in  ten  of  the  young  men  who  are  dancing  and  singing 
it,  know  the  meaning  of  the  song  which  they  are  chanting 
over.  None  but  the  medicine-men  are  allowed  to  under- 
stand them;  and  even  they  are  generally  only  initiated 
into  these  secret  arcana,  on  the  payment  of  a  liberal  stipend 
for  their  tuition,  which  requires  much  application  and 
study.  There  is  evidently  a  set  song  and  sentiment  for 
every  dance,  for  the  songs  are  perfectly  measured,  and 
sung  in  exact  time  with  the  beat  of  the  drum ;  and  always 
with  an  uniform  and  invariable  set  of  sounds  and  expres- 
sion, which  clearly  indicate  certain  sentiments,  which  are 
expressed  by  the  voice,  though  sometimes  not  given  in 
any  known  language  whatever. 

They  have  other  dances  and  songs  which  are  not  so 
mystified,  but  which  are  sung  and  understood  by  every 
person  in  the  tribe,  being  sung  in  their  own  language,  with 
much  poetry  in  them,  and  perfectly  metred,  but  without 
rhyme.  On  these  subjects  I  shall  take  another  occasion  to 
say  more ;  and  will  for  the  present  turn  your  attention  to 
the  style  and  modes  in  which  some  of  these  curious  trans- 
actions are  conducted. 

My  ears  have  been  almost  continually  ringing  since  I 
came  here,  with  the  din  of  yelping  and  beating  of  the 
drums ;  but  I  have  for  several  days  past  been  peculiarly 
engrossed,  and  my  senses  almost  confounded  with  the 
stamping,  and  grunting,  and  bellowing  of  the  buffalo  dance, 
which  closed  a  few  days  since  at  sunrise  (thank  Heaven) 
and  which  I  must  needs  describe  to  you. 

Buffaloes,  it  is  known,  are  a  sort  of  roaming  creatures, 
congregating  occasionally  in  huge  masses,  and  strolling 
away  about  the  country  from  east  to  west,  or  from  north  to 


lilJ 


!l 


m 


ill 


II 


'■-'m' 


ffiV: 


Irr 


'..'■•M'^^te' 


B^ 

■■:■  ■  '-  1 ;  :k 

i   1 

i   ■ 

•  1 

i  1 

208 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


south,  or  just  where  their  -vhims  or  strange  fancies  may 
lead  them ;  and  the  Mandans  are  sometimes,  by  this  means 
most  unceremoniously  left  without  any  thing  to  eat ;  and 
being  a  small  tribe,  and  unwilling  to  risk  their  lives  by 
going  far  from  home  in  the  face  of  their  more  powerful 
enemies,  are  oftentimes  left  almost  in  a  state  of  starvation. 
In  any  emergency  of  this  kind,  every  man  musters  and 
brings  out  of  his  lodge  his  mask  (the  skin  of  a  buffalo's 
head  with  the  horns  on),  which  he  is  obliged  to  keep  in 
readiness  for  this  occasion ;  and  then  commences  the  bufl'alo 
dance,  of  which  I  have  above  spoken,  which  is  held  for  the 
purpose  of  making  "buffalo  come"  (as  they  term  it),  of 
inducing  the  buffalo  herds  to  change  the  direction  of  their 
wanderings,  and  beud. their  course  towards  the  Mandan 
village,  and  graze  about  on  the  beautiful  hills  and  bluffs  in 
its  vicinity,  where  the  Mandans  can  shoot  them  down  and 
cook  them  as  they  want  them  for  food. 

For  the  most  part  of  the  year,  the  young  warriors  and 
hunters,  by  riding  out  a  mile  or  two  from  the  village,  can 
kill  moat  in  abundance;  and  sometimes  large  herds  of  these 
animals  may  be  seen  grazing  in  full  view  of  the  village. 
There  are  other  seasons  also  when  the  young  men  have 
ranged  about  the  country  as  far  as  they  are  willing  to  risk 
their  live?,  on  account  of  their  enemies,  without  fiiidiii"' 
meat.  This  sad  intelligence  is  brought  back  to  the  cliiefs 
and  doctors,  who  sit  in  solemn  council,  and  consult  on  the 
most  expedient  measures  to  be  taken,  until  they  are  sure  to 
decide  upon  the  old  and  only  expedient  which  "  never  lias 
failed." 

The  chief  issues  his  orders  to  his  runners  or  criers,  who 
proclaim  it  through  the  village — and  in  a  few  minutes  tlio 
(lance  begins.  The  place  where  this  strange  operation  is 
carried  on  is  in  the  public  area  in  the  centre  of  tlie  village, 
and  in  front  of  tlio  great  niodicine  or  mystery  lodge. 
About  ten  or  fifteen  Mandans  at  a  time  join  in  the  dance, 
each  one  with  the  skin  of  the  buffalo's  head  (or  mask)  with 
the  horns  on,  placed  over  his  head,  and  in  hio  l^and  his 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


a09 


favorite  bow  or  lance,  >   th  whicli  he  is  used  to  slay  the 
buffalo. 

I  mentioned  that  this  dance  always  had  the  desired 
effect,  that  it  never  fails,  nor  can  it,  for  it  cannot  be  stopped 
(but  is  going  incessantly  day  and  night)  until  "buffalo 
come."  Drums  are  beating  and  rattles  are  shaken,  and 
songs  and  yells  incessantly  are  shouted,  and  lookers-on 
stand  ready  with  masks  on  their  heads,  and  weapons  in 
hand,  to  take  the  place  of  each  one  as  he  becomes  fatigued, 
and  jumps  out  of  the  ring. 

During  this  time  of  general  excitement,  spies  or  Hoohers''^ 
are  kept  on  the  hills  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  village, 
who,  when  they  discovsr  buffaloes  in  sight,  give  the 
appropriate  signal,  by  "throwing  ttieir  robes,"  which  is 
instantly  seen  in  the  village,  and  understood  by  the  whole 
tribe.  At  this  joyful  intelligence  there  is  a  shout  of  thanks 
to  the  Great  Spirit,  and  more  especially  to  the  mystery- 
man,  and  the  dancers,  who  have  been  the  immediate  cav^e  of 
their  success/  There  is  then  a  brisk  preparation  for  the 
chase — a  grand  hunt  takes  place.  The  choicest  pieces  of 
the  victims  are  sacrificed  to  the  Great  Spirit,  and  then  a 
surfeit  and  a  carouse. 

These  dances  have  sometimes  been  continued  in  this 
village  two  and  three  weeks  without  stopping  an  instant, 
until  the  joyful  moment  when  buffaloes  made  their  appear- 
ance. So  they  never  fail ;  and  they  think  they  have  been 
the  means  of  bringing  them  in. 

Every  man  in  the  Mandan  village  (as  I  have  before  said) 
is  obliged  by  a  village  regulation,  to  keep  the  mask  of  the 
bufliilo,  hanging  on  a  post  at  the  head  of  his  bed,  which  he 
can  use  on  his  head  whenever  ho  is  called  upon  by  the 
chiefs,  to  dance  for  the  coming  of  buffaloes.  The  mask 
is  put  over  the  head,  and  generally  has  a  strip  of  the  skin 
hanging  to  it,  of  the  whole  length  of  the  animal,  with  the 
tail  attached  to  it,  which,  passing  down  over  the  back  of 
the  dancer,  is  dragging  on  the  ground.  When  one  becomes 
flitigued  of  the  exercise,  he  signifies  it  by  bending  quite 

14 


'  wHi 


th 


*•■      *-i 


210 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


forward,  and  sinking  his  body  towards  the  ground ;  when 
another  draws  a  bow  upon  him  and  hits  him  with  a  blunt 
arrow,  and  he  falls  like  a  buffalo— is  seized  by  the  bye- 
Btaaders,  who  drag  him  out  of  the  ring  by  the  heels, 
brandishing  their  knives  about  him;  and  having  gone 
through  the  motions  of  skinning  and  cutting  him  up,  they 
let  him  off",  and  his  place  is  at  once  supplied  by  another, 
who  dances  into  the  ring  with  his  mask  on ;  and  by  this 
taking  of  places,  the  scene  is  easily  kept  up  night  and  day, 
until  the  desired  effect  has  been  produced,  that  of  "making 
buffalo  come." 

The  day  before  yesterday,  though  it  commenced  in  joy 
and  thanksgiving  to  the  Great  Spirit  for  the  signal  success 
which  had  attended  their  several  days  of  dancing  and  sup. 
plication,  it  ended  in  a  calamity  which  threw  the  village 
of  the  Mandans  into  mourning  and  repentant  tears,  and 
that  at  a  time  of  scarcity  and  great  distress.  The  signal 
was  given  into  the  village  on  that  morning  from  the  top  of 
a  distant  bluff",  that  a  band  of  buffaloes  were  in  sight, 
though  at  a  considerable  distance  off",  and  every  heart  beat 
with  joy,  and  every  eye  watered  and  glistened  with  glad- 
ness. 

The  dance  had  lasted  some  three  or  four  days,  and  now, 
instead  of  the  doleful  tap  of  the  drum  and  the  begging 
chaunts  of  the  dancers,  the  stamping  of  horses  was  heard 
as  they  were  led  and  galloped  through  the  village — young 
men  were  throwing  oft'  their  robes  and  their  shirts, — were 
seen  snatching  a  handful  of  arrows  from  their  quivers,  and 
stringing  their  sinewy  bows,  glancing  their  eyes  and  their 
smilcij  at  their  sweethearts,  and  mounting  their  ponies. 

There  had  been  a  few  minutes  of  bustle  and  boasting, 
whilst  bows  were  twanging  and  spears  were  polishing  by 
running  their  blades  into  the  ground — every  face  and 
every  eye  was  filled  with  joy  and  gladness — horses  were 
pawing  and  snufTmg  in  fury  for  the  onset,  when  Louiaon 
Frduie,  an  interpreter  of  the  Fur  Company,  galloped 
through  the  village  with  his  rifle  in  his  hand  and  bis 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


211 


powder-horn  at  his  side ;  his  head  and  waist  were  bandaged 
with  handkerchiefs,  and  his  shirt  sleeves  rolled  up  to  his 
shoulders — the  hunter's  yell  issued  from  his  lips  and  was 
repeated  through  the  \illage;  he  flew  to  the  bluffs,  and 
behind  him  and  over  the  graceful  swells  of  the  prairie, 
galloped  the  emulous  youths,  whose  hearts  were  beat-ng 
high  and  quick  for  the  onset 

In  the  village,  where  hunger  had  reigned,  and  starvation 
vras  almost  ready  to  look  them  in  the  face,  all  was 
instantly  turned  to  joy  and  gladness.  The  chiefs  and 
doctors  who  had  been  for  some  days  dealing  out  minimum 
rations  to  the  community  from  the  public  crib,  now  spread 
before  their  subjects  the  contents  of  their  own  private 
caches,  and  the  last  of  every  thing  that  could  be  mustered, 
that  they  might  eat  a  thanksgiving  to  the  Great  Spirit  for 
his  goodness  in  sending  them  a  supply  of  buffalo  meat.  A 
general  carouse  of  banqueting  ensued,  which  occupied  the 
greater  part  of  the  day ;  and  their  hidden  stores  which 
might  have  fed  an  emergency  for  several  weeks,  were 
nearly  consumed — bones  were  half  picked,  and  dishes  half 
emptied  and  then  handed  to  the  dogs.  I  was  not  forgotten 
either,  in  the  general  surfeit ;  several  large  and  generous 
wooden  bowls  of  pemican  and  other  palatable  food  were 
sent  to  my  paiiting-room,  and  I  received  them  in  this  time 
of  scarcity  with  great  pleasure. 

After  this  general  indulgence  was  over,  and  the  dogs 
had  licked  the  dishes,  their  usual  games  and  amusements 
ensued — and  hilarity  and  mirth,  and  joy  took  possession 
of,  and  reigned  in,  every  nook  and  corner  of  the  village ; 
suddenly  in  the  midst  of  this,  screams  and  shrieks  were 
heard!  and  echoed  everywhere.  Women  and  children 
Bcramblcd  to  the  tops  of  their  wigwams,  with  their  eyes 
and  their  hands  stretched  in  agonizing  earnestness  to  the 
prairie,  whilst  blackened  warriors  ran  furiously  through 
every  winding  maze  of  the  village,  and  issuing  their 
jarring  gutturals  of  vengeance,  as  they  snatched  their 
deadly  weapons  from  their  lodges,  and  struck  the  reddened 


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212 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


post  ns  tbey  furiously  passed  it  by  I  Two  of  their  hunters 
were  bending  their  course  down  the  sides  of  the  bluff 
towards  the  village,  and  another  broke  suddenly  out  of  a 
deep  ravine,  and  yet  another  was  seen  dashing  over  and 
down  the  green  hills,  and  all  were  goading  on  their  horses 
at  full  speed  I  and  then  came  another,  and  another,  and  all 
entered  the  village  amid  the  shouts  and  groans  of  the 
villagers  who  crowded  around  them :  the  story  was  told  in 
-  their  looks,  for  one  was  bleeding,  and  the  blood  that  flowed 
from  his  naked  breast  had  crimsoned  his  milk  white  steed 
as  it  had  dripped  over  him ;  another  grasped  in  his  left 
hand  a  scalp  that  was  reeking  in  blood — and  in  the  other 
his  whip — another  grasped  nothing,  save  the  reins  in  one 
hand  and  the  mane  of  the  horse  in  the  other,  havinw 
thrown  his  bow  and  his  arrows  away,  and  trusted  to  the 
fleetness  of  his  horse  for  his  safety ;  yet  the  story  was 
audibly  told,  and  the  fatal  tragedy  recited  in  irregular  and 
almost  suffocating  ejaculations — the  names  of  the  dead  were 
in  turns  pronounced  and  screams  and  shrieks  burst  forth 
at  their  recital — murmurs  and  groans  ran  through  the 
village,  and  this  happy  little  community  were  in  a  momeut 
smitten  with  sorrow  and  distraction. 

Their  proud  baud  of  hunters  who  had  started  full  of  glee 
and  mirth  in  the  morning,  had  been  surrounded  by  their 
enemy,  the  Sioux,  and  eight  of  them  killed.  The  Sioux 
who  had  probably  reconnoitred  their  village  during  the 
night,  and  ascertained  that  they  were  dancing  for  buffaloes 
laid  a  stratagem  to  entrap  them  in  the  following  manner: 
— Some  six  or  eight  of  them  appeared  the  next  mornin'' 
(on  a  di.stant  bluff,  in  sight  of  their  sentinel)  under  the 
skins  of  buffaloes,  imitating  the  movements  of  those 
animals  whilst  grazing;  and  being  discovered  by  the 
sentinel,  the  intelligence  was  telgraphed  to  the  villa^^c 
which  brought  out  their  hunters  as  I  have  described.  The 
masked  buffaloes  were  seen  grazing  on  the  top  of  a  lii<'h 
bluff,  and  when  the  hunters  had  approached  within  half  a 
mile  or  so  of  them,  they  suddenly  disappeared  over  the 


NOBTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


218 


hill.  Louison  Frfenid,  who  was  leading  the  little  band  of 
hunters,  became  at  that  moment  suspicious  of  so  strange  a 
movement,  and  came  to  a  halt, 

"  Look !"  (said  a  Mandan,  pointing  to  a  little  ravine  to 
the  right,  and  at  the  foot  of  the  hill,  from  which  suddenly 
broke  some  forty  or  fifty  furious  Sioux  on  fleet  horses  and 
under  full  whip,   who  were  rushing  upon  them);  they 
•wheeled,  and  in  front  of  them  came  another  band,  more 
furious,  from  the  other  side  of  the  hill  1  they  started  for 
home,  poor  fellows,  and  strained  every  nerve ;  but  the 
Sioux  were  too  fleet  for  them ;  and  every  now  and  then, 
the  whizzing  arrow  and  the  lance  were  heard  to  rip  the 
flesh  of  their  naked  backs,  and  a  grunt  and  a  groan,  as  they 
tumbled  from  their  horses.    Several  miles  were  run  in  this 
desperate  race ;  and  Frfenid  got  home,  and  several  of  the 
Mandans,  thougb  eight  of  them  were  killed  and  scalped  by 
the  way. 

So  ended  that  day,  and  the  hunt ;  but  many  a  day  and 
sad,  will  last  the  grief  of  those  whose  hearts  were  broken 
on  that  unlucky  occasion. 

This  day,  though,  my  readers,  has  been  one  of  a  more 
joyful  kind,  for  the  Great  Spirit,  who  was  indignant  at  so 
fla-^rant  an  injustice,  has  sent  the  Mandans  an  abundance 
of  buffaloes;  and  all  hearts  have  joined  in  a  general 
thanksgiving  to  Eim  for  his  goodness  and  justice. 


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LETTER  No.  XIX. 


MANDAN  "PILLAGE,  UPPER  MISSOURI 

In  my  last  letter  I  gave  an  account  of  the  buflfalo  dance, 
and  in  future  epistles  may  give  some  descriptions  of  a 
dozen  other  kinds  of  dance,  which  these  people  have  in 
common  with  other  tribes ;  but  in  the  present  letter  I  shall 
make  an  endeavor  to  confine  my  observations  to  several 
o^her  customs  and  forms,  which  are  very  curious  and 
peculiar  to  the  Maudans. 

Of  these,  one  of  the  most  pleasing  is  the  sham-fight  and 
sham  scalp-dance  of  the  Mandan  boys,  which  is  a  part  of 
their  regular  exercise,  and  constitutes  a  material  branch  of 
tlieir  education.  During  the  pleasant  mornings  of  tL  satu- 
mer,  the  little  boys  between  the  age  of  seven  and  fifteen  are 
(214) 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


216 


called  out,  to  the  number  of  several  hundred,  and  being 
divided  into  two  companies,  each  of  which  is  headed  by 
some  experienced  warrior,  who  leads  them  on,  in  the 
character  of  a  teacher,  they  are  led  out  into  the  prairie  at 
sunrise,  when  this  curious  discipline  is  regularly  taught 
them.  Their  bodies  are  naked,  and  each  one  has  a  little 
bow  in  his  left  hand,  and  a  number  of  arrows  made  of  large 
spears  of  grass,  which  are  harmless  in  their  effects.  Each 
one  has  also  a  little  belt  or  girdle  around  his  waist,  in 
which  he  carries  a  knife  made  of  a  piece  of  wood  and 
equally  harmless— on  the  tops  of  their  heads  are  slightly 
attached  small  tufts  of  grass,  which  answer  as  scalps,  and 
iu  this  plight,  they  follow  the  dictates  of  their  experienced 
leaders,  who  lead  them  through  the  judicious  evolutions 
of  Indian  warfare — of  feints — of  retreats — of  attacks — and 
at  last  to  a  general  fight.  Many  manoeuvres  are  gone 
through,  and  eventually  they  are  brought  up  face  to  face, 
within  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  of  each  other,  with  their 
leaders  at  their  head  stimulating  them  on.  Their  bows  are 
bent  upon  each  other  and  their  missiles  flying,  whilst  they 
are  dodging  and  fending  them  off". 

If  any  one  is  struck  with  an  arrow  on  any  vital  part  of 
his  body,  he  is  obliged  to  fall,  and  his  adversary  rushes  up 
to  him,  places  his  foot  upon  him,  and  snatching  from  bis 
belt  his  wooden  knife,  grasps  hold  of  his  victim's  scalp-lock 
of  grass,  and  making  a  feint  at  it  with  his  wooden  knife, 
twitches  it  off  and  puts  it  into  his  belt  and  enters  again 
into  the  ranks  and  front  of  battle. 

This  mode  of  training  generally  lasts  an  hour  or  more  in 
the  morning,  and  is  performed  on  an  empty  stomach, 
affording  them  a  rigid  and  wholesome  exercise,  whilst  they 
are  instructed  in  the  important  science  of  war.  Some  five 
or  six  miles  of  ground  arc  run  over  during  these  evolutions, 
giving  suppleness  to  their  limbs  and  strength  to  their  mus- 
cles, which  last  and  benefit  them  through  life. 

After  this  exciting  exhibition  is  ended,  they  all  return 
to  their  village,  where  the  chiefs  and  braves  pay  profound 


l^"-! 


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S16 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THB 


attention  to  their  vaunting,  and  applaud  them  for  their 
artifice  and  valor. 

Those  who  have  taken  scalps  then  step  forward,  bran- 
dishing them  and  making  their  boasts  as  they  enter  into 
the  scalp-dance  (in  which  they  are  also  instructed  by  their 
leaders  or  teachers),  jumping  and  yelling — brandishing 
their  scalps,  and  reciting  their  sanguinary  deeds,  to  the  great 
astonishment  of  their  tender-aged  sweethearts,  who  are 
gazing  with  wonder  upon  them. 

The  games  and  amusements  of  these  people  are  in  most 
respects  like  those  of  other  tribes,  consisting  of  ball  plays 
— game  of  the  moccasin,  of  the  platter — feats  of  archery — 
horse-racing,  &c. ;  and  they  have  yet  another,  which  may 
be  said  to  be  their  favorite  amusement,  and  unknown  to 
the  other  tribes  about  them.  The  game  of  Tchung-kec,  a 
beautiful  athletic  exercise,  which  they  seem  to  be  almost 
unceasingly  practicing  whilst  the  weather  is  fair,  and  they 
have  nothing  else  of  moment  to  demand  their  attention. 
Tiiis  game  is  decidedly  their  favorite  amusement,  and  is 
played  near  to  the  village  on  a  pavement  of  clay,  which 
has  been  used  for  that  purpose  until  it  has  become  as 
smooth  and  hard  as  a  floor.  For  this  game  two  champions 
form  their  respective  parties,  by  choosing  alternately  the 
most  famous  players,  until  their  requisite  numbers  are 
made  up.  Their  bett'ngs  are  then  made,  and  their  stakes 
are  held  by  some  of  the  chiefs  or  others  present.  The  play 
commences  with  two  (one  from  each  party),  who  start  off 
upon  a  trot,  abreast  of  each  other,  and  one  of  them  rolls  in 
advance  of  them,  on  the  pavement,  a  little  ring  of  two  or 
three  inches  in  diameter,  cut  out  of  a  stone ;  and  each  one 
follows  it  up  with  his  "  tchung-kee"'  (a  stick  of  six  feet  in 
length,  with  little  bits  of  leather  projecting  from  its  sides 
of  an  inch  or  more  in  length),  which  he  throws  before  him 
as  he  runs,  sliding  it  along  upon  the  ground  after  the  ring, 
cndc  ivoring  to  place  it  in  such  a  position  when  it  stops, 
that  the  ring  may  fall  upon  it,  and  receive  one  of  the  little 
projections  of  leather  through  it,  which  counts  for  game, 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


217 


one,  or  two,  or  four,  according  to  the  position  of  the  leather 
on  which  the  ring  is  lodged.  The  last  winner  always  has  the 
rolling  of  the  ring,  and  both  start  and  throw  the  tchung- 
kee  together ;  if  either  fails  to  receive  the  ring  or  to  lie  in 
a  certain  position,  it  is  a  forfeiture  of  the  amount  of  the 
number  he  is  nearest  to,  and  ho  loses  his  throw;  when 
another  steps  into  his  place.  This  game  is  a  very  difficult 
one  to  describe,  so  as  to  give  an  exact  idea  of  it,  unless 
one  can  see  it  played — it  is  a  game  of  great  beauty  and  fine 
bodily  exercise,  and  these  people  become  excessively  fasci- 
nated with  it;  often  gambling  away  every  thing  they 
possess,  and  even  sometimes,  when  everything  else  was 
gone,  have  been  known  to  stake  their  liberty  upon  the 
issue  of  these  games,  offering  themselves  as  slaves  to  their 
opponents  in  case  they  get  beaten. 

Feasting  snd  fasting  are  important  customs  observed  by 
the  Mandans,  as  well  as  by  most  other  tribes,  at  stated 
times  and  for  particular  purposes.  These  observances  are 
strictly  religious  and  rigidly  observed.  There  are  many  of 
these  forms  practiced  amongst  the  Mandans,  some  of  which 
are  exceedingly  interesting,  and  important  also,  in  forming 
a  correct  estimate  of  the  Indian  character ;  and  I  shall  at  a 
future  period  take  particular  pains  to  lay  them  before  my 
readers. 

fxrijicing  is  also  a  religious  custom  with  these  people, 
and  is  performed  in  many  different  modes,  and  on 
numerous  occasions.  Of  this  custom  I  shall  also  speak 
more  fully  hereafter,  merely  noticing  at  present,  some  few 
of  the  hundred  modes  in  which  these  offerings  are  made  to 
the  Good  and  Evil  Spirits.  Human  sacrifices  have  never 
been  made  by  the  Mandans,  nor  by  any  of  the  north- 
western tribes  (so  far  as  I  can  learn)  excepting  the 
Pawnees  of  the  Platte ;  who  have,  undoubtedly,  observed 
such  an  inhuman  practice  in  former  times,  though  they 
have  relinquished  it  of  late.  The  Mandans  sacrifice  their 
fingers  to  the  Great  Spirit,  and  of  their  worldly  goods,  the 
best  and  the  most  costly ;  if  a  horse  or  a  dog,  it  must  be 


•  ■■mm 

.ri 


213 


LETTERS  AND  N0TK3  ON"  THE 


the  favorite  one ;  if  it  is  an  arrow  from  their  quiver,  they 
will  select  the  most  perfect  one  as  the  most  effective  gift- 
if  it  is  meat,  it  is  the  choicest  piece  cut  from  the  buffalo  or 
other  animal ;  if  it  is  anything  from  the  stores  of  the 
Traders,  it  is  the  most  costly— it  is  blue  or  scarlet  cloth, 
which  costs  thorn  in  this  country  an  enormous  price,  and 
is  chiefly  used  for  the  purpose  of  hanging  over  their 
wigwams  to  decay,  or  to  cover  the  scaffolds  where  rest  the 
bones  of  their  departed  relations. 

Of  these  kinds  of  sacrifices  there  are  three  of  an  inter- 
esting  nature,  erected  over  the  great  medicine-lodge  in  the 
centre  of  the  village — they  consist  of  ten  or  fifteen  yards  of 
blue  and  black  cloth  each,  purchased  from  the  Fur  Coi-i. 
pany  at  fifteen  or  twenty  dollars  per  yard,  which  are  folded 
up  so  as  to  resemble  human  figures,  with  quills  in  tbe,lr 
heads  and  masks  on  their  faces.  These  singular-looking 
figures,  like  "scare  crotvs^"  are  erected  on  poles  about  thirty 
feet  high,  over  the  door  of  the  mystery-lodge,  and  there 
are  left  to  decay.  There  hangs  now  by  the  side  of  them 
another,  which  was  added  to  the  number  ^  few  days  since, 
of  the  skin  of  a  white  buffalo,  which  will  remain  there 
until  it  decays  and  falls  to  pieces. 

This  beautiful  and  costly  skin,  when  its  history  is 
known,  will  furnish  a  striking  proof  of  the  importance 
which  they  attach  to  these  propitiatory  offerings.  But  a 
few  weeks  since,  a  party  of  Mandans  returned  from  the 
Mouth  of  the  Yellow  Stone,  two  hundred  miles  above,  with 
information  that  a  party  of  Blackfeet  were  visiting  that 
place  on  business  with  the  American  Fur  Company ;  and 
that  they  had  with  them  a  white  buffalo  robe  for  sale. 
This  was  looked  upon  as  a  subject  of  great  importance  by 
the  chiefs,  and  one  worthy  of  public  consideration.  A 
wliite  buffalo  robe  is  a  great  curiosity,  even  in  the  country 
of  buffaloes,  and  will  always  command  an  almost  increiiible 
price,  from  its  extreme  scarcity ;  and  then,  from  its  being 
the  most  costly  article  of  traffic  in  these  regions,  it  is 
usually  converted  into  a  sacrifice,  being  offered  to  the 


til  ^  I 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIAXa 


219 


Great  Spirit,  as  the  most  acceptable  gift  that  oan  be  prO' 
cured.  Amongst  the  vast  herds  of  buffaloes  which  graze 
on  these  boundless  prairies,  there  is  not  one  in  an  hundred 
thousand,  perhaps,  that  is  white;  and  when  such  an  one  is 
obtained,  it  is  considered  great  medicine  or  mystery. 

On  the  receipt  of  the  intelligence  above  mentioned,  the 
chiefs  convened  in  council,  and  deliberated  on  the  expe- 
diency of  procuring  the  white  robe  from  the  Blackfeet; 
and  also  of  appropriating  the  requisite  means,  and  devising 
the  proper  mode  of  procedure  for  effecting  the  purchase. 
At  the  close  of  their  deliberations,  eight  men  were  fitted 
out  on  eight  of  their  best  horses,  who  took  from  the  Fur 
Company's  store,  on  the  credit  of  the  chiefs,  goods  exceed- 
ing even  the  value  of  their  eight  horses ;  and  they  started 
for  the  Mouth  of  the  Yellow  Stone,  where  they  arrived  in 
due  time,  and  made  the  purchase,  by  leaving  the  eight 
horses  and  all  the  goods  which  they  carried;  returning  on 
foot  to  their  own  village,  bringing  home  with  them  the 
white  robe  which  was  looked  upon  by  all  eyes  of  the 
villagers  as  a  thing  that  was  vastly  curious,  and  con- 
taining (as  they  express  it)  something  of  the  Great  Spirit. 
This  wonderful  anomaly  laid  several  days  in  the  chief's 
lodge,  until  public  curiosity  was  gratified ;  and  then  it  was 
taken  by  the  doctors  or  high-priests,  and  with  a  great  deal 
of  form  and  mystery  consecrated,  and  raised  on  the  top  of 
a  long  pole,  over  the  medicine-lodge;  where  it  now  stands 
in  a  group  with  the  others,  and  will  stand  as  an  offering 
to  the  Great  Spirit,  until  it  decays  and  fulls  to  the  ground. 

This  Letter  as  I  promised  in  its  commencement,  being 
devoted  to  some  of  the  customs  peculiar  to  the  Mandans, 
and  all  of  which  will  be  new  to  the  world,  I  shall  close, 
after  recording  in  it  an  account  of  a  laughable  farce,  which 
was  enacted  in  this  village  when  I  was  on  my  journey  up 
the  river,  and  had  stopped  on  the  way  to  spend  a  day  or 
two  in  the  Mandan  village. 

Readers,  did  you  ever  hear  of  ^^  Rain  Makers  T^  If  not, 
sit  still,  and  read  on ;  but  laugh  not — keep  cool  and  sober, 


-i^--! --■-=.:*-' 


4«.  ;    :■•^  ,'«T: 


m^r,  ■ 


-.'   ;    '  ■     t  ■it- ,  ■   M : 


i^'m 


nm 


1 


vHVv- 


220 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


or  elso  you  may  laugh  in  tho  heginntnff,  and  cry  at  the  end 
of  my  story.  Well,  I  introduce  to  you  a  new  character- 
not  a  doctor  or  a  high-priest,  yet  a  medicine-man,  and  one  of 
the  highest  and  most  respectable  order,  a  "  Bain  Maker  T^ 
Such  dignitaries  live  in  the  Mandan  nation,  aye,  and  '*  ram 
stoppers'^  too ;  and  even  those  also  amongst  their  conjuratt 
■who,  like  Joshua  of  old,  have  even  essayed  to  stop  the  sun 
in  his  course ;  but  from  the  inefTiciency  of  their  medicine 
or  mystery,  have  long  since  descended  into  insignifieunce. 

The  Mandans,  raise  a  great  deal  of  corn;  but  some- 
times a  most  disastrous  drought  visits  the  land,  destructive 
to  their  promised  harvest.  Such  was  tho  case  when  I 
arrived  at  the  Mandan  village  on  the  steam-boat,  Yellow- 
Stone.  Rain  had  not  fallen  for  many  a  day,  and  the  dear 
little  girls  and  the  ugly  old  squaws,  altogether  (all  of 
whom  had  fields  of  corn,)  were  groaning  and  crying  to 
their  lords,  and  imploring  them  to  intercede  for  rain,  that 
their  little  patches,  which  were  now  turning  pale  and 
yellow,  might  not  be  withered,  and  they  be  deprived  of  the 
pleasure  of  their  customary  annual  festivity,  and  the  joyful 
occasion  of  the  "roasting  cars,"  and  the  "green  corn 
dance." 

The  chiefs  and  doctors  sympathized  with  the  distress  of 
the  women,  and  recommended  patience.  Great  deliberation, 
they  said,  was  necessary  in  these  cases ;  and  though  they 
resolved  on  making  the  attempt  to  produce  rain  for  the 
benefit  of  the  corn ;  yet  they  very  wisely  resolved  that  to 
begin  too  soon  might  ensure  their  entire  defeat  in  the 
endeavor ;  and  that  the  longer  they  put  it  off,  the  more 
certain  they  would  be  of  ultimate  success.  So,  after  a  few 
days  of  further  delay,  when  the  importunities  of  the  Avomcu 
had  become  clamorous,  and  even  mournful,  and  almost 
insupportable,  the  medicine-men  assembled  in  the  council- 
house,  with  all  their  mystery  apparatus  about  them — with 
an  abundance  of  wild  sage,  and  other  aromatic  herbs,  with 
a  fire  prepared  to  burn  them,  '  '♦  their  savory  odors 
might  bo  sent  forth  to  the  Great  S  irit.    The  lodge  was 


H  mh 


ki  J 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 

closed  to  all  the  villagcra,  except  some  ten  or  fifteen  young 
men,  who  were  willing  to  hazard  the  dreadful  alternative 
of  making  it  rain,  or  aufl'cr  the  everlasting  disgrace  of 
having  made  a  fruitless  essay. 

They,  only,  were  allowed  as  witnesses  to  the  hocus  poem 
and  conjuration  devised  by  the  doctors  inside  of  the 
medicine -lodge ;  and  they  were  called  up  by  lot,  each  one 
in  his  turn,  fo  spend  a  day  upon  the  top  of  the  lodge,  to 
test  the  potency  of  his  medicine  ;  or,  in  other  words,  to  see 
how  far  his  voice  might  bo  heard  and  obeyed  amongst  the 
clouds  of  the  heavens;  whilst  the  doctors  were  burning 
incense  in  the  wigwam  below,  and  with  their  songs  and 
prayers  to  the  Great  Spirit,  for  success,  were  sending  forth 
grateful  fumes  and  odors  to  Him  "who  lives  in  the  sun 
and  commands  the  thunders  of  Heaven."  Wah-kee  (the 
shield)  was  the  first  who  ascended  the  wigwam  at  sunfisc  ; 
and  he  stood  all  day,  and  looked  foolish,  as  he  was  counting 
over  and  over  his  string  of  mystery-beads — the  whole 
village  were  assembled  around  him,  and  praying  for  his 
success.  Not  a  cloud  appeared — the  day  was  calm  and 
hot;  and  at  the  setting  of  the  sun,  he  descended  from  the 
lodge  and  went  home — "  his  medicine  was  not  good,"  nor 
can  he  ever  be  a  medicine-man. 

Oni-pah  (the  elk)  was  the  next ;  he  ascended  the  lodge  at 
sunrise  the  next  morning.  His  body  was  entirely  naked, 
being  covered  with  yellow  clay.  On  his  left  arm  he 
carried  a  beautiful  shield,  and  along  lanco  in  his  right; 
and  on  his  hctid  the  skin  of  a  raven,  the  bird  that  soars 
amidst  the  clouds,  and  above  the  lightning's  glare — ho 
flourished  his  shield  and  brandished  his  lance,  and  raised 
his  voice,  but  in  vain ;  for  at  sunset  the  ground  was  dry 
and  the  sky  was  clear ;  the  squaws  wero  crying,  and  their 
corn  was  withering  at  its  roots. 

War-rah-pah  (the  beaver)  was  the  next ;  he  also  spent 
his  breath  in  vain  upon  the  empty  air,  .nnd  came  down  at 
night — and  Wak-a-dah-ha-hee  (the  white  buffalo's  hair) 
took  the  stand  the  next  morning.    He  is  a  small,  but 


'm-^.i 


I 


■* ' '  '''■  _., 
t"  ■■'-A\'i'i'] 


;'  ^^fi|i 


{» l^^ 


--  ■■  -        -.J. 


'■-f  :  -« 


•■'♦i**     '■     ■     ; 

k'Ai  '■•'  '      '1 

W::       ^      r^. 

i 

222 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


beautifully  proportioned  young  man.  He  was  dressed  in  a 
tunic  and  leggings  of  the  skins  of  the  mountain- sheep, 
splendidly  garnished  with  quills  of  the  porcupine,  and 
fringed  with  locks  of  hair  taken  by  his  own  hand  from  the 
heads  of  his  enemies.  On  his  arm  ho  carried  his  shield, 
made  of  the  buffalo's  hide— its  boss  was  the  head  of  the 
war-eagle — and  its  front  was  ornamented  with  "  red  chains 
of  lightning."  In  his  left  hand  he  clenched  his  sinewy 
bow  and  one  single  arrow.  The  villagers  were  all 
gathered  about  him ;  when  he  threw  up  a  feather  to 
decide  on  the  course  of  the  wind,  and  he  commenced 
thus : — *'  My  friends !  people  of  the  pheasants !  you  see 
me  here  a  sacrifice — I  shall  this  day  relieve  you  from  great 
distress,  and  bring  joy  amongst  you ;  or  I  shall  descend 
from  this  lodge  when  the  sun  goes  down,  and  live  amongst 
the  dogs  and  old  women  all  my  days.  My  friends !  you 
saw  which  way  the  feather  flew,  and  I  hold  my  shield  this 
day  in  the  direction  where  the  wind  comes — the  lightning 
on  my  shield  will  draw  a  great  cloud,  and  this  arrow, 
which  is  selected  from  my  quiver,  and  which  is  feathered 
with  the  quill  of  the  white  swan,  will  make  a  hole  in  it. 
My  friends  !  this  hole  in  the  lodge  at  my  feet,  shows  me 
the  medicine-men,  who  are  seated  in  the  lodge  below  me 
and  crying  to  the  Great  Spirit ;  and  through  it  comes  and 
passes  into  my  nose  delightful  odors,  which  you  see 
rising  in  tlic  smoke  to  the  Great  Spirit  above,  who  rides  in 
clouds  and  commands  the  winds  I  Three  days  they  have 
sat  here,  my  friends,  and  nothing  has  been  done  to  relieve 
your  distress.  On  the  first  day  was  Wah-kee  (the  shield), 
he  could  do  nothing ;  he  counted  his  beads  and  came  down 
— his  medicine  was  not  good — his  name  was  bad,  and  it 
kept  off  the  rain.  The  next  was  Om-pah  (the  elk) ;  on  his 
head  the  raven  was  seen,  who  flies  above  the  storm,  and  he 
failed.  War-rah-pa  (the  beaver)  was  the  next,  my  friends ; 
iuc  beaver  lives  uruier  the  water,  and  ho  never  wants  it  to 
rain.  My  friends  1  I  see  you  are  in  great  distress,  and 
nothing  has  yet  been  done;  this  shield  belonged  to  my 


^-<-bi: 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


223 


father  the  "White  Buffalo ;  and  the  lightning  you  see  on  it 
is  red ;  it  was  taken  from  a  black  cloud,  and  that  cloud 
will  come  over  us  to-day  I  am  the  white  buffalo's  hair — 
and  I  am  the  son  of  my  father." 

It  happened  on  this  memorable  day  about  noon,  that 
the  steam-boat  Yellow  Stone,   on   her  first  trip  up  the 
Missouri  Kiver,  approached  and  landed  at  the  Mandan 
Village,  as  I  have  described  in  a  former  epistle.    I  was 
lucky  enough  to  be  a  passenger  on  this  boat,  and  helped 
to  fire  a  salute  of  twenty  guns  of  twelve  pounds  calibre, 
when  we  first  came  in  sight  of  the  village,  some  three  or 
four  miles  below.    These-  guns  introduced  a  new  sound  into 
this  strange  country,  which  the  Mandans  at  first  supposed 
to  be  thunder ;  and  the  young  man  upon  the  lodge,  who 
turned  it  to  good  account,  was  gathering  fame  in  rounds  of 
applause,  which  were  repeated  and  echoed  through  the 
whole  village;  all  eyes  were  centred  upon  him — chiefs 
envied  him — mothers'    hearts  were   beating  high  whilst 
they  were  decorating  and  leading  up  their  fair  daughters 
to  offer  him  in   marriage,   on    his  signal  success.     The 
medicine-men  had  left  the  lodge,  and  came  out  to  bestow 
upon  him  the  envied  title  of  '*  medicine-man,''^  or  "  doctor^^ 
which  he  had  so  deservedly  won — wreaths  were  prepared 
to  decorate  his  brows,  and  eagle's  plumes  and  calumets 
wore  in  readiness  for  him  ;  his  friends  were  all  rejoiced — 
his  enemies  wore  on  their  faces  a  silent  gloom  and  hatred ; 
and  his  old  sweethearts,  who  had  formerly  cast  him  off, 
gazed  intensely  upon  him,  as  they  glowed  with  the  burning 
fever  of  repentance. 

During  all  this  excitement,  "Wak-a-dah-ha-hee  kept  hia 
position,  assuming  the  most  commanding  and  threatening 
attitudes;  brandishing  his  shield  in  the  direction  of  the 
tliuudcr,  although  there  was  not  a  cloud  to  be  seen,  until 
he,  poor  follow,  being  elevated  above  the  rest  of  the  village, 
espied  to  his  inexpressible  amazement,  the  steamboat 
ploughing  its  way  up  the  windings  of  the  river  below; 
puffing  her  steam  from  her  pipes,  and  sending  forth  the 


,V-1. 


224 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


thunder  from  a  twelve-pounder  on  her  deck  I  *  *  * 
The  "White  Buffaloe's  Hair  stood  motionless  and  turned 
pale,  he  looked  awhile,  and  turned  to  the  chief  and  to  the 
multitude,  and  addressed  them  with  a  trembling  lip_''My 
friends,  we  will  get  no  rain  I — there  are  you  see  no  clouds  • 
but  my  medicine  is  great — I  have  brought  a  thunder-boat  f 
look  and  see  it ;  the  thunder  you  hear  is  out  of  her  mouth, 
and  the  lightning  which  you  see  is  on  the  waters  1" 

At  this  intelligence,  the  whole  village  flew  to  the  tops  of 
their  wigwams,  or  to  the  bank  of  the  river,  from  whence  the 
steamer  was  in  full  view,  and  ploughing  along,  to  their 
utter  dismay  and  confusion. 

In  this  promiscuous  throng  of  chiefs,  doctors,  women 
children  and  dogs,  was  mingled   "Wak-a-dah-ha-hce  (the 
white  buffalo's  hair),  having  descended  from  his  high  place 
to  mingle  with  the  frightened  throng. 

Dismayed  at  the  approach  of  so  strange  and  unaccount- 
able an  object,  the  Mandans  stood  their  ground  but  a  few 
moments ;  when,  by  an  order  of  the  chiefs,  all  hands  were 
ensconsed  within  the  piquets  of  their  village,  and  all  the 
warriors  armed  for  a  desperate  defence.  A  few  moments 
brought  the  boat  in  front  of  the  village,  and  all  was  still 
and  quiet  as  death ;  not  a  Mandan  was  to  be  seen  upon  the 
banks.  The  steamer  was  moored,  and  three  or  four  of  the 
chiefs  soon  after  walked  boldly  down  the  bank  and  on  to 
her  deck,  with  a  spear  in  one  hand  and  the  calumet  or  pipe 
of  peace  in  the  other.  The  moment  they  stepped  on  board 
they  met  (to  their  great  surp.-iso  and  joy)  their  old  frienJ, 
Major  Sanford,  their  agent,  which  circumstance  put  an 
instant  end  to  all  their  fears.  Tlic  villagers  were  soon 
apprized  of  the  fact,  and  the  whole  race  of  the  beautiful  and 
friendly  Mandans  was  paraded  on  the  bank  of  the  river,  in 
front  of  the  steamer. 

The  "  rain  maker,"  whose  apprehensions  of  a  public 
calamity  brought  upon  the  nation  by  liis  extraordinary 
medicine,  had,  for  the  better  security  of  his  person  from 
aj>prchen(led  vengeance,  secreted  himself  in  some  secure 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


225 


place,  and  was  tho  last  to  come  forward,  and  the  last  to  be 
convinced  that  this  visitation  was  a  friendly  one  from  the 
white  people ;  and  that  his  medicine  had  not  in  the  least 
been  instrumental  in  bringing  it  about.     This  information, 
though  received  by  him  with  much  caution  and  suspicion, 
at  length  gave  him  great  relief,  and  quieted  his  mind  as  to 
his  danger.    Yet  still  in  his  breast  there  was  a  rankling 
thorn,  though  he  escaped  the  dreaded  vengeance  which  he 
had  a  few  moments  before  apprehended  as  at  hand  ;  as  he 
had  the  mortification  and  disgrace  of  having  failed  in  his 
mysterious  operations.     lie  set  up,  (during  the  day,  in  his 
conversation  about  the  strange  arrival),  his  medicines,  as  the 
cause  of  its  approach ;  asserting  everywhere  and  to  every- 
body, that  he  knew  of  its  coming,  and  that  he  had  by  his, 
magic  brought  the  occurrence  about.    This  plea,  however, 
(lid  not  get  him  much  audience ;  and  in  fact,  everything 
e]"fi  was  pretty  much  swallowed  up  in  the  guttural  talk, 
and  bustle,  and  gossip  about  the  mysteries  of  the  "  thunder- 
boat  ;"  and  so  passed  the  day,  until  just  at  the  approach  of 
evening,  when  the  "White  Buffalo's  Hair"  (more  watchful 
of  such  matters  on  this  occasion  than  most  others)  observed 
that  a  black  cloud  had  been  jutting  up  in  the  horizon,  and 
was  almost  directly  over  the  village!     In  an  instant  his 
shield  was  on  his  arm,  and  his  bow  in  his  hand,  and  he 
attain  upon  the   lodge  1    stiffened   and  braced  to  tho  last 
sinew,  he  stood,  with  his  face  and  his  shield  presented  to 
the  cloud,  and  his  bow  drawn.    He  drew  the  eyes  of  the 
whole  village  upon  him  as  he  vaunted  forth  his  super- 
human powers,  and  at  the  same  time   commanding  the 
cloud  to  come  nearer,  that  ho  might  draw  down  its  contents 
upon  the  heads  and  the  corn-fields  of  the  Mandans!   In  thia 
wise  he  stood,  waving  his  shield  over  his  head,  stamping 
liis  foot  and  frowning  as  he  drew  his  bow  and  threatened 
tlio  heavens,  commanding  it  to  rain — his  bow  was  bent,  and 
tho  arrow  drawn  to  its  head,  was  sent  to  tho  cloud,  and  he 
exclaimed,  "My  friends,  it  is  donel     Wak-a-dah-ha-hee's 
arrow  has  entered  that  black  cloud,  and  the  Mandans  will 

15 


! 


f'  't  r 


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3'rfr  ,.'tt-  .■    ;  ■ 


;*?»,...       *' 


>f  ,      /M'k 

vf    "'^  ,      if'''"  ^ 

.   t       '.     '>  "1?"-  > 

'"A 


.,...  i-M^ 


226 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON"  THK 


be  wet  with  the  waters  of  the  skies!"  His  predictions 
were  true; — in  a  few  moments  the  cloud  was  over  the 
village,  and  the  rain  fell  in  torrents.  He  stood  for  some 
time  wielding  his  weapons  and  presenting  his  shield  to  the 
sky,  while  he  boasted  of  Ua  power  and  the  efficacy  of  his 
medr'cme,  to  those  who  had  been  about  him,  but  were  now 
driven  to  the  shelter  of  their  wigwams.  He,  at  length, 
finished  his  vaunts  and  his  threats,  and  descended  from  his 
high  place  (in  which  he  had  been  perfectly  drenched), 
prepared  to  receive  the  honors  and  the  homage  that  were 
due  to  one  so  potent  in  his  mysteries ;  and  to  receive  the 
style  and  title  of  ^^medicine-man."  This  is  one  of  a  hundred 
different  modes  in  which  a  man  in  Indian  countries 
acquires  the  honorable  appellation. 

This  man  had  "made  it  rain,"  and  of  course  was  to 
receive  more  than  usual  honors,  as  he  had  done  much 
more  than  ordinary  men  could  do.  All  eyes  were  upon 
him,  and  all  were  ready  to  admit  that  he  was  skilled  in  the 
magic  art ;  and  must  be  so  nearly  allied  to  the  Great  or 
Evil  Spirit,  that  he  must  needs  be  a  man  of  great  and 
powerful  influence  in  the  nation,  and  well  entitled  to  the 
style  of  doctor  or  medicine-man. 

Readers,  there  are  two  facts  relative  to  these  strange 
transactions,  which  are  infallibly  true,  and  should  needs 
be  made  knovni.  The  first  is,  that  when  the  Mandans 
undertake  to  make  it  rain,  they  never  fail  to  succeed,  for  their 
ceremonies  never  i  ,op  until  rain  begins  to  fall.  The  second 
is  equally  true,  and  is  this : — that  he  who  has  once  "mocfc 
it  rain"  never  attempts  it  again  ;  his  medicine  is  undoubted 
— and  on  future  occasions  of  the  kind,  he  stands  aloof,  who 
has  once  done  it  in  presence  of  the  whole  village,  giving  an 
opportunity  to  other  young  men  who  are  ambitious  to 
signalize  themselves  in  the  same  way. 

During  the  memorable  night  of  which  I  have  just  spoken, 
the  steamboat  remained  by  the  side  of  the  Mandan  village, 
and  the  rain  that  had  commenced  falling  continued  to  pour 
down  its  torrents  until  midnight ;  black  thunder  roared, 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


227 


and  livid  lightning  flashed  until  the  heavens  appeared  to 
he  lit  up  with  one  unceasing  and  appalling  glare.  In  this 
frightful  moment  of  consternation,  a  flash  of  lightning 
buried  itself  in  one  of  the  earth-covered  lodges  of  the 
Mf  ndans,  and  killed  a  beautiful  girl.  Here  was  food  and 
fuel  fresh  for  their  superstitions ;  and  a  night  of  vast 
tumult  and  excitement  ensued.  The  dreams  of  the  new- 
made  medicine-man  were  troubled,  and  he  had  dreadful 
apprehensions  for  the  coming  day — for  he  knew  that  he 
was  subject  to  the  irrevocable  decree  of  the  chiefs  and 
doctors,  who  canvass  every  strange  and  unaccountable 
event,  with  close  and  superstitious  scrutiny,  and  let  their 
vengeance  fall  without  mercy  upon  its  immediate  cause. 

He  looked  upon  his  well-earned  fame  as  likely  to  be 
withheld  from  him ;  and  also  considered  that  his  life  might 
perhaps  be  demanded  as  the  forfeit  for  this  girl's  death, 
which  would  certainly  be  charged  upon  him.  He  looked 
upon  himself  as  culpable,  and  supposed  the  accident  to- 
have  been  occasioned  by  liis  criminal  desertion  of  his 
post,  when  the  steamboat  was  approaching  the  village. 
Morning  came,  and  he  soon  learned  from  some  of  his 
friends,  the  opinions  of  the  wise  men  ;  and  also  the  nature 
of  the  tribunal  that  was  preparing  for  him ;  he  sent  to  the 
prairie  for  his  three  horses,  which  were  brought  in,  and  he 
mounted  the  medicine-lodge^  around  which,  in  a  few 
moments,  the  villagers  were  all  assembled.  "My  Friends! 
(said  ho)  I  see  you  all  around  me,  and  I  am  before  you ; 
my  medicine,  you  see,  is  great — it  is  too  great — I  am  young, 
and  I  was  too  fast — I  knew  not  when  to  stop.  The  wig- 
wam of  Mahsish  is  laid  low,  and  many  are  the  eyes  that 
weop  for  Ko-ka  (the  antelope);  Wak-a-dah-ha-hee  gives 
three  horses  to  gladden  the  hearts  of  those  who  weep  for 
Ko-ka ;  his  medicine  was  great — his  arrow  pierced  the 
black  cloud,  and  the  lightning  came,  and  the  thunder-boat 
also  I  who  says  the  medicine  of  Wak-a-dah-ha-hee  is  not 
strong  ?" 

At  the  end  of  this  sentence  an  unanimous  shout  of 


'\-.Mt 


'-Mi 


228 


LErrERS  AND  NOTES. 


approbation  ran  through  the  crowd,  and  the  "Hair  of  the 
White  BufTalo"  descended  amongst  them,  where  he  was 
greeted  by  shakes  of  the  hand ;  and  amongst  whom  he  now 
lives  and  thrives  under  the  familiar  and  honorable  appella- 
tion of  the  "Bia  Double  Medicine." 


LETTER  NO.  XX. 
MANDAN  VILLAGE,  UPPER  MISSOURI. 

This  day  has  been  one  of  unusual  mirth  and  amusement 
amongst  the  Mandans,  and  whether  on  account  of  some 
annual  celebration  or  not,  I  am  as  yet  unable  to  say,  though 
I  think  such  is  the  case ;  for  these  people  have  many  days 
whicli,  like  this,  are  devoted  to  festivities  and  amusements. 

Their  lives,  however,  are  lives  of  idleness  and  ease,  and 
almost  all  their  days  and  hours  are  spent  in  innocent 
amusements.  Amongst  a  people  who  have  no  office  hours 
to  attend  to — no  professions  to  study,  and  of  whom  but 
very  little  time  is  required  in  the  chase,  to  supply  their 
families  with  food,  it  would  be  strange  if  they  did  not 
practice  many  games  and  amusements,  and  also  become 
exceedingly  expert  in  them. 

I  have  this  day  been  a  spectator  of  games  and  plays 
until  I  am  fatigued  with  looking  on ;  and  also  by  lending 
a  hand,  which  I  have  done ;  but  with  so  little  success  as 
only  to  attract  general  observation,  and  as  generally  to 

(229) 


I 


Mm. 


f 


*»  si- 


280 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


excite  tlio  criticisms  and  laughter  of  tbe  squaws  and  little 
children. 

I  have  seen  a  fair  exhibition  of  their  archery  this  day, 
in  a  favorite  amusement  which  they  call  the  "  game  of  the 
arrow,''^  where  the  young  men  who  are  the  most  distin- 
guished in  this  exercise,  assemble  on  the  prairie  at  a  little 
distance  from  the  village,  and^  having  paid,  each  one,  his 
"  entrance-fee,"  such  as  a  shield,  a  robe,  a  pipe,  or  other 
article,  step  forward  in  turn,  shooting  their  arrows  into  the 
air,  endeavoring  to  see  who  can  get  the  greatest  number 
flying  in  the  air  at  one  time,  thrown  from  the  same  bow. 
For  this,  the  number  of  eight  or  ten  arrows  are  clenched  in 
the  left  hand  with  the  bow,  and  the  first  one  which  is 
thrown  is  elevated  to  such  a  degree  as  will  enable  it  to 
remain  the  longest  time  possible  in  the  air,  and  while  it  is 
flying,  the  others  are  discharged  as  rapidly  as  possible; 
and  he  who  succeeds  in  getting  the  greatest  number  up  at 
once,  is  "  best,"  and  takes  the  goods  staked. 

In  looking  on  at  this  amusement,  the  spectator  is  sur- 
prised ;  not  at  the  great  distance  to  which  the  arrows  are 
actually  sent;  but  at  the  quickness  of  fixing  them  on  the 
string,  and  di^scharging  them  in  succession ;  which  is  no 
doubt,  the  result  of  great  practice,  and  enables  the  most 
expert  of  them  to  get  as  many  as  eight  arrows  up  before  the 
first  one  reaches  the  ground. 

For  the  successful  use  of  the  bow,  as  it  is  used  through 
all  this  region  of  country  on  horseback,  and  that  invariably 
at  full  speed,  the  great  object  of  practice  is  to  enable  the 
bowman  to  draw  the  bow  with  suddenness  and  instant 
effect;  and  also  to  repeat  the  shots  in  the  most  rapid 
manner.  As  their  game  is  killed  from  their  horses'  backs 
while  at  the  swiftest  rate — and  their  enemies  fought  in  the 
same  way ;  and  as  the  horse  is  the  swiftest  animal  of  the 
prairie,  and  always  able  to  bring  his  rider  alongside,  within 
a  few  paces  of  his  victim ;  it  will  easily  be  seen  that  the 
Indian  has  little  u.so  in  throwing  his  arrow  more  than  a 
few  paces ;  when  he  leans  quite  low  on  his  horse's  side, 


service. 
They 
thong, 
length, 
with  a  n 
the  anir 
— when 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


281 


and  drives  it  with  astonishing  forr  ,  capable  of  producing 
iDStant  death  to  the  buffalo,  or  any  other  animal  in  the 
country.  The  bows  which  are  generally  in  use  in  these 
regions  I  have  described  in  a  former  Letter,  and  the  effects 
produced  by  them  at  the  distance  of  a  few  paces  is  almost 
beyond  belief,  considering  their  length,  which  is  not  often 
over  three, — and  sometimes  not  exceeding  two  and  a  half 
feet.  It  can  easily  be  seen,  from  what  has  been  said,  that 
the  Indian  has  little  use  or  object  in  throwing  the  arrow  to 
any  great  distance.  And  as  it  is  very  seldom  that  they 
can  be  seen  shooting  at  a  target,  I  doubt  very  much 
whether  their  skill  in  such  practice  would  compare  with 
that  attained  to  in  many  parts  of  the  civilized  world ;  but 
with  the  same  weapon,  and  dashing  forward  at  fullest  speed 
on  the  wild  horse,  without  the  use  of  the  rein,  when  the 
shot  is  required  to  be  made  with  the  most  instantaneous 
effect,  I  scarcely  think  it  possible  that  any  people  can  be 
found  more  skilled,  and  capable  of  producing  more  deadly 
effects  with  the  bow. 

The  horses  which  the  Indians  ride  in  this  country  are 
iavariably  the  wild  horses,  which  are  found  in  great  num- 
bers on  the  prairies;  and  have,  unquestionably,  strayed 
from  the  Mexican  borders,  into  which  they  were  introduced 
by  the  Spanish  invaders  of  that  country ;  and  now  range 
and  subsist  themselves,  in  winter  and  summer,  over  the 
vast  plains  of  prairie  that  stretch  from  the  Mexican  frontiers 
to  Lake  Winnipeg  on  the  north,  a  distance  of  three  thou- 
sand miles.  These  horses  are  all  of  small  stature,  of  the 
pony  order;  but  a  very  hardy  and  tough  animal,  being 
able  to  perform  for  the  Indians  a  continual  and  essential 
service. 

They  are  taken  with  the  &mo,  which  is  a  long  halter  or 
thong,  made  of  raw-hide,  of  some  fifteen  or  twenty  yards  in 
length,  and  which  the  Indians  throw  with  great  dexterity ; 
with  a  noose  at  one  end  of  it,  which  drops  over  the  head  of 
the  animal  they  wish  to  catch,  whilst  running  at  full  speed 
— when  the  Indian  dismounts  from  his  own  horse,  and 


'  «i  i. 


mw-* 


A^;  H  ■  ^-i 


m: 

K 

'f  f 

'."  '1 

Mv 

( *- 


}, 


232 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


holding  to  the  end  of  the  laso,  chokes  the  animal  down 
and  afterwards  tames  and  converts  him  to  his  own  use. 

Scarcely  a  man  in  these  regions  is  to  be.  found,  who  is 
not  the  owner  of  one  or  more  of  these  horses  ;  and  in  many 
instances  of  eight,  ton,  or  even  twenty,  which  he  values  as 
his  own  personal  property. 

The  Indians  are  hard  and  cruel  masters ;  and,  added  to 
their  cruelties  is  the  sin  that  is  familiar  in  the  Christian 
world,  of  sporting  with  the  limbs  and  the  lives  of  these 
noble  animals.  Horse-racing  here,  as  in  all  more  enlightened 
communities,  is  one  of  the  most  exciting  amusements,  and 
one  of  the  most  extravagant  modes  of  gambling. 

I  have  been  this  day  a  spectator  to  scenes  of  this  kind, 
whicli  have  been  enacted  in  abundance,  on  a  course  which 
they  have,  just  back  of  their  village  ;  and  although  I  never 
had  the  least  taste  for  this  cruel  amusement  in  my  own 
country,  yet,  I  must  say,  I  have  been  not  a  little  amused 
and  pleased  with  the  thrilling  effect  which  these  exciting 
scenes  have  produced  amongst  so  wild  and  picturesque  a 
group. 

Besides  these,  many  have  been  the  amusements  of  this 
day,  to  which  I  have  been  an  eye-witness;  and  since  writing 
the  above,  I  have  learned  the  cause  of  this  unusual  expres- 
sion of  hilarity  and  mirth ;  which  was  no  more  nor  less  than 
the  safe  return  of  a  small  war-party,  who  had  been  so  long 
out  without  any  tidings  having  been  received  of  them — that 
they  had  long  since  been  looked  upon  as  sacrificed  to  the 
fates  of  war  and  lost.  This  party  was  made  up  of  the  most 
distinguished  and  desperate  young  men  of  the  tribe,  who 
had  sallied  out  against  the  Riccarees,  and  taken  the  most 
solemn  oath  amongst  themselves  never  to  return  without 
achieving  a  victory.  They  had  wandered  long  and  faith- 
fully about  the  country,  following  the  trails  of  their  enemy ; 
when  they  were  attacked  by  a  numerous  party,  and  lost 
several  of  tlieir  men  and  all  their  horse-?.  In  tliis  condition, 
to  evade  the  scrutiny  of  their  enemy,  who  were  closely 
investing  the  natural  route  to  their  village;  they  took  a 


1_, 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


288 


circuitoug  range  of  the  country,  to  enable  them  to  return 
with  their  lives,  to  their  village. 

In  this  plight,  it  seems,  I  had  dropped  my  little  canoe 
alongside  of  them,  while  descending  from  the  Mouth  of 
Yellow  Stone  to  this  place,  not  many  weeks  since ;  where 
they  had  bivouacked  or  halted,  to  smoke  and  consult  on  the 
best  and  safest  mode  of  procedure.  At  the  time  of  meeting 
them,  not  knowing  anything  of  their  language,  they  were 
unable  to  communicate  their  condition  to  me,  and  more 
probably  were  afraid  to  do  so  even  if  they  could  have  done 
it,  from  apprehension  that  we  might  have  given  some 
Recount  of  them  to  their  enemies. 


^sivjj;, 


M,>::. 


I  u  t»   .  •/' 


M    '..    I 


I 


-  ff'l' 

.. .  xmU 
It  ..'.'.'Mi 

vi.'j.  *o.%f 

i    rr.(.\i  ,,i 


LETTER  No.  XXL 
MANDAN  VILLAGE,  UPPER  MISSOURI 

In  a  former  Letter  I  gave  some  account  of  Mah-to-toh-pa 
(the  four  bears),  second  chief  of  the  Mandans,  whom  I  said 
I  had  painted  at  full  length,  in  a  splendid  costume. 

Mah-to-toh-pa  had  agreed  to  stand  before  me  for  bis 
portrait  at  an  early  hour  of  the  next  morning,  and  on  that 
day  I  sat  with  my  palette  of  colors  prepared,  and  waited 
till  twelve  o'clock,  before  he  could  leave  his  toilette  with 
feelings  of  satisfaction  as  to  the  propriety  of  his  looks  and 
the  arrangement  of  his  equipments ;  and  at  that  time  it  was 
announced,  that  "Mah-to-toh-pa  was  coming  in  fall  dress  I'' 

I  looked  out  of  the  door  of  the  wigwam,  and  saw  him 
approaching  with  a  firm  and  elastic  step,  accompanied  by  a 
great  crowd  of  women  and  children,  who  were  gazing  on 
him  with  admiration,  and  escorting  him  to  my  room.  No 
tragedian  ever  trod  the  stage,  nor  gladiator  even  entered 
the  Roman  Forum,  with  more  grace  and  manly  dignity 
than  did  Mah-to-toh-pa  enter  the  wigwam,  where  I  was  in 
(234) 


'i.Ll 


i  :in' 


luii     I 


«  .  * 


\^ 


/l 


I    • 


•*    • 


<^x^ 


»4» 


*?'*'..,■ 


'Sf'-Vf^fS;^ 


^r*-^^:!*. 


r*^- 


k  ,* 


W^  !i 


*ik,'*tj 


^\i 


t  -;» ift 


i    .  1 


Si  5-i 


•^^»pi  ,V  IB*"' 


;«?t 


I '  m 


i;i  X 


.d..,.Jii,l 


NORTH  AMKBICAN  INDIANS. 


285 


readiness  to  receive  him.  He  took  his  attitude  before  me, 
and  with  the  sternness  of  a  Brutus  and  the  stillness  of  a 
statue,  he  stood  until  the  darkness  of  night  broke  upon  the 
solitary  silence.  His  dress,  which  was  a  very  splendid 
one,  was  complete  in  all  its  parts,  and  consisted  of  a  shirt 
or  tunic,  leggings,  moccasins,  head-dress,  necklace,  shield, 
bow  and  quiver,  lance,  tobacco-sack,  and  pipe ;  robe,  belt, 
and  knife;  medicine-bag,  tomahawk,  and  war  club,  or 
po-ko-mO'Jcon.  :  '        <   !.  '  '.'il!  m;' 

The  shirt,  of  which  I  have  spoken,  was  made  of  two 
skins  of  the  mountain-sheep,  beautifully  dressed,  and  sewed 
together  by  seams  which  rested  upon  the  arms ;  one  skin 
banging  in  front,  upon  the  breast,  and  the  other  falling 
down  upon  the  back ;  the  head  being  passed  between  them, 
and  they  falling  over  and  resting  on  the  shoulders.  Across 
each  shoulder,  and  somewhat  in  the  form  of  an  epaulette, 
was  a  beautiful  band ;  and  down  each  arm  from  the  neck 
to  the  hand  was  a  similar  one,  of  two  inches  in  width  (and 
crossing  the  other  at  right  angles  on  the  shoulder)  beauti- 
fully embroidered  with  porcupine  quills  worked  on  the 
dress,  and  covering  the  seams.  To  the  lower  edge  of  these 
bands  the  whole  way,  at  intervals  of  half  an  inch,  were 
attached  long  locks  of  black  hair,  which  he  had  taken  with 
his  own  hand  frc  m  the  heads  of  his  enemies  whom  he  had 
slain  in  battle,  aud  which  he  thus  wore  as  a  trophy,  and 
also  as  an  ornament  to  his  dress.  The  front  and  back  of 
the  shirt  were  curiously  garnished  in  several  parts  with 
porcupine  quills  and  paintings  of  the  battles  he  had  fought, 
and  also  with  the  representations  of  the  victims  that  had 
fallen  by  his  hand.  The  bottom  of  the  dress  was  bound  or 
hemmed  with  ermine  skins,  and  tassels  of  ermines'  tails 
were  suspended  from  the  arms  and  the  shoulders. 

The  Leggings,  which  were  made  of  deer  skins,  beautifully 
dressed,  and  fitting  tight  to  the  leg,  extended  from  the  feet 
to  the  hips,  and  were  fastened  to  a  belt  which  was  passed 
around  the  waist.  These,  like  the  shirt,  had  a  similar  baud, 
worked  with  porcupine  quills  of  richest  dyes,  passing  down 


*     »4 


(1  i.** 


)■>'■.  t     '•«) 


»'/'     1-     "  J.,  *■'■ 

5,  jf'  t  v* 


286 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


the  seam  on  the  outer  part  of  the  leg,  and  fringed  also  the 
whole  length  of  the  leg,  with  the  scalp-locks  taken  from 
his  enemies'  heads. 

The  Moccasins  were  of  buckskin,  and  covered  in  almost 
every  part  with  the  beautiful  embroidery  of  porcupines' 
quills. 

The  ffead-dress,  which  was  superb  and  truly  magnificent 
consisted  of  a  crest  of  war-eagles'  quills,  gracefully  falling 
back  from  the  forehead  over  the  back  part  of  the  head,  and 
extending  quite  down  to  his  feet ;  set  the  whole  way  in  a 
profusion  of  ermine,  and  surmounted  on  the  top  of  the 
head,  with  the  horns  of  the  buffalo,  shaved  thin  and  highly 
polished. 

The  Necklace  was  made  of  fifty  huge  claws  or  nails  of  the 
grizzly  bear,  ingeniously  arranged  on  the  skin  of  an  otter, 
and  worn,  like  the  scalp-locks,  as  a  trophy — as  an  evidence 
unquestionable,  that  he  had  contended  with  and  overcame 
that  desperate  enemy  in  open  combat. 

His  Shield  was  made  of  the  hide  of  the  buffalo's  neck, 
and  hardened  with  the  glue  that  was  taken  from  its  hoofs; 
its  boss  was  the  skin  of  a  pole-cat,  and  its  edges  were 
fringed  with  rows  of  eagles'  quills  and  hoofs  of  the  antelope. 

His  Bow  was  of  bone,  and  as  white  and  beautiful  as 
ivory ;  over  its  back  was  laid,  and  firmly  attached  to  it,  a 
coating  of  deers'  sinews,  which  gave  it  its  elasticity,  and  of 
course  death  to  all  that  stood  inimically  before  it.  Its 
string  was  three  stranded  and  twisted  of  sinews,  which 
many  a  time  had  twanged  and  sent  the  whizzing  death  to 
animal  and  to  human  victims. 

The  Quiver  was  made  of  a  panther's  skin  and  hung  upon 
his  back,  charged  with  its  deadly  arrows;  some  were 
poisoned  and  some  were  not;  they  were  feathered  with 
hawks'  and  eagles'  quills;  some  were  clean  and  innocent, 
and  pure,  and  others  were  stained  all  over,  with  animal 
and  human  blood  that  was  dried  upon  them.  Their  blades 
or  points  were  of  flints,  and  some  of  steel ;  and  altogether 
were  a  deadly  magazine. 


^4  ^  I 


f'     i'^ 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


237 


The  Lcvnce  or  spear  was  held  in  his  left  hand ;  its  blade 
was  two-edged  and  of  polished  steel,  and  the  blood  of 
several  human  victims  was  seen  dried  upon  it,  one  over 
the  other ;  its  shaft  was  of  the  toughest  ash,  and  ornamented 
at  intervals  with  tufts  of  war-eagles'  quills. 

His  Tobacco-sack  was  made  of  the  skin  of  an  otter,  and 
tastefully  garnished  with  quills  of  the  porcupine ;  in  it  was 
carried  his  k^nick-Fncck,  (the  bark  of  the  red  willow,  which 
is  smoked  as  a  substitute  for  tobacco,)  it  contained  also  his 
flint  and  steel,  and  spunk  for  lighting. 

His  Pipe,  which  was  ingeniously  carved  out  of  the  red 
steatite  (or  pipestone,)  the  stem  of  which  was  three  feet 
long  and  two  inches  wide,  made  from  the  stalk  of  the 
young  a  ill ,  xbout  half  its  length  was  wound  with  delicate 
braids  ol  *'  •  ■'rcupine's  quills,  so  ingeniously  wrought  as 
to  represc  . .  " .  ires  of  men  and  animals  upon  it.  It  was 
also  ornamented  with  the  skins  and  beaks  of  wood-peckers' 
heads,  and  the  hair  of  the  white  buffalo's  tail.  The  lower 
half  of  the  stem  was  painted  red,  and  on  its  edges  it  bore 
the  notches  he  had  recorded  for  the  snows  (or  years)  of  his 
life. 

His  Bohe  was  made  of  the  skin  of  a  young  buffalo  bull, 
•with  the  fur  on  one  side,  and  the  other  finely  and  deli- 
cately dressed ;  with  all  the  battles  of  his  life  emblazoned 
on  it  by  his  own  hand. 

His  Belt,  which  was  of  a  substantial  piece  of  buckskin, 
was  firmly  girded  around  his  waist ;  and  in  it  were  worn 
his  tomahawk  and  scalping-knife. 

His  Medicine-bag  was  the  skin  of  a  beaver,  curiously 
ornamented  with  hawks'  bills  and  ermine.  It  was  held  in 
his  right  hand,  and  his  po-lco-mo-kon  (or  war-club)  which 
was  made  of  a  round  stone,  tied  up  in  a  piece  of  rawhide, 
and  attached  to  the  end  of  a  stick,  somewhat  in  the  form  of 
.1  sling,  was  laid  with  others  of  his  weapons  at  his  feet. 

Such  was  the  dress  of  Mah-to-toh-pa  when  he  entered 
my  wigwam  to  stand  for  his  picture ;  but  such  I  have  not 
entirely  represented  it  in  his  portrait ;  having  rejected  such 


'4-# 


:||^^^t 


J^  J. 


1 1,  I   V        -1  '^  ^ 


Xr-t 


\^-kiL 


u  I 


238 


LBTTEBS  AND  NOTES  ON  TUB 


trappings  and  ornaments  as  interfered  with  the  grace  and 
simplicity  of  the  figure.  He  was  beautifully  and  extrava- 
gantly dressed ;  and  in  this  he  was  not  alone,  for  hundreds 
of  others  are  equally  elegant.  In  plumes,  and  arms,  and 
ornaments,  he  is  not  singular;  but  in  laurels  and  wreaths 
he  stands  unparalleled.  His  breast  has  been  bared  and 
scarred  in  defence  of  his  country,  and  his  brows  crowned 
with  honors  that  elevate  him  conspicuous  above  all  of  his 
nation.  There  is  no  man  amongst  the  Mandans  so  gene- 
rally loved,  nor  any  one  who  wears  a  robe  so  justly  famed 
and  honorable  as  that  of  Mah-to-toh-pa. 

The  following  was,  perhaps,  one  of  the  most  extraordi- 
nary exploits  of  this  remarkable  man's  life,  and  is  well 
attested  by  Mr.  Kipp,  and  several  white  men,  who  were 
living  in  the  Mandan  village  at  the  time  of  its  occurrence. 
In  a  skirmish,  near  the  Mandan  village,  when  they  were 
set  upon  by  their  enemies,  the  Riccarees,  the  brother  of 
Mah-to-toh-pa  was  missing  for  several  days,  when  Mah-to- 
toh-pa  found  the  body  shockingly  mangled,  and  a  hand- 
some spear  left  piercing  the  body  through  the  heart.  The 
spear  was  by  him  brought  into  the  Mandan  village,  where 
it  was  recognized  by  many  as  a  famous  weapon  belongiir^ 
to  a  noted  brave  of  the  Riccarees,  by  the  name  of  Won-ga- 
tap.  This  spear  was  brandished  through  the  Mandan 
village  by  Mah-to-toh-pa  (with  the  blood  of  his  brother 
dried  on  its  blade),  crying  most  piteously,  and  swearing  that 
he  would  some  day  revenge  the  death  of  his  brother  with 
the  same  weapon. 

It  is  almost  an  incredible  fact,  that  ho  kept  this  spear 
with  great  care  in  his  wigwam  for  the  space  of  four  years, 
in  the  fruitless  expectation  of  an  opportunity  to  use  it  upon 
the  breast  of  its  owner ;  when  his  indignant  soul,  impatient 
of  further  delay,  burst  forth  in  the  most  uncontrollable 
frenzy  and  fury ;  he  again  brandished  it  through  the 
village,  and  said,  that  the  blood  of  his  brother's  heart 
which  as  seen  on  its  blade  was  yet  fresh,  and  called 
loudly  for  revenge.     •'  Let  every  Mandan  (said  he)  be 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


289 


ailent,  and  let  no  one  sound  the  name  of  Mah-lo-toli-pa — let 
no  one  ask  for  him,  nor  where  he  has  gone,  until  you  hear 
him  sound  the  war-cry  in  front  of  the  village,  when  he  will 
enter  it  and  shew  you  the  blood  of  Won-ga-tap.  The 
blade  of  this  lance  shall  drink  the  heart's  blood  of  Won-ga- 
tap,  or  Mah-to-toh-pa  mingles  his  shadow  with  that  of  his 
brother." 

With  this  he  sallied  forth  from  the  village,  and  over  the 
plains,  with  the  lance  in  his  hand;  his  direction  was 
towards  the  Riccaree  village,  and  all  eyes  were  upon  him, 
though  none  dared  to  speak  till  he  disappeared  over  the 
distant  grassy  bluffe.  He  travelled  the  distance  of  two 
hundred  miles  entirely  alone,  with  a  little  parched  corn  in 
his  pouch,  making  his  marches  by  night,  and  laying 
secreted  by  days,  until  he  reached  the  Riccaree  village ; 
where  (being  acquaijited  with  its  shapes  and  its  habits,  and 
knowing  the  position  of  the  wigwam  of  his  doomed 
enemy)  he  loitered  about  in  disguise,  mingling  himself 
in  the  obscure  throng;  and  at  last,  silently  and  alone, 
observed  through  the  rents  of  the  wigwam,  the  last 
motions  and  movements  of  his  victim,  as  he  retired  to  bed 
with  his  wife :  he  saw  him  light  his  last  pipe  and  smoke  it 
"  to  its  end" — he  saw  the  last  whiflF,  and  saw  the  last  curl 
of  blue  smoke  that  faintly  steeped  from  its  bowl — he  saw 
the  village  awhile  in  darkness  and  silence,  and  the  embers 
that  were  covered  in  the  middle  of  the  wigwam  gone 
nearly  out,  and  the  last  flickering  light  which  had  been 
gently  playing  over  them  ;  when  he  walked  softly,  but  not 
slyly,  into  the  wigwam  and  seated  himself  by  the  fire,  over 
which  was  hanging  a  large  pot,  with  a  quantity  of  cooked 
meat  remaining  in  it ;  and  by  the  side  of  the  fire,  the  pipe 
and  tobacco-pouch  which  had  just  been  used ;  and  knowing 
that  the  twilight  of  the  wigwam  was  not  sufficient  to  dis- 
close the  features  of  his  face  to  his  enemy,  he  very 
deliberately  turned  to  the  pot  and  completely  satiated  the 
desperate  appet  ite,  which  he  had  got  in  a  journey  of  six  or 
seven  days,  with  little  or  nothing  to  eat;  and  then,  as 


m 


'^p:^'" 


'  ^  f. 


!■'.   ;i^  1./^'^ 


't.  l;.: , 


240 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


deliberately,  charged  and  lighted  the  pipe,  and  sent  (no 
doubt  in  every  whiff  that  he  drew  through  its  stem)  a 
prayer  to  the  Great  Spirit  for  a  moment  longer  for  the  con- 
summation of  his  design.  Whilst  eating  and  smoking,  the 
wife  of  his  victim,  while  laying  in  bed,  several  times 
inquired  of  her  husband,  what  man  it  was  who  was  eating 
in  their  lodge  ?  to  which,  he  as  many  times  replied,  "  It's 
no  matter ;  lot  him  eat,  for  he  is  probably  hungry." 

Mah-to-toh-pa  knew  full  well  that  his  appearance  would 
cause  no  other  reply  than  this,  from  the  dignitary  of  the 
nation ;  for,  from  an  invariable  custom  amongst  these 
Northern  Indians,  any  one  who  is  hungry  is  allowed  to 
walk  into  any  man's  lodge  and  eat.  Whilst  smoking  his 
last  gentle  and  tremulous  whiffs  on  the  pipe,  Mah-to-toh-pa 
(leaning  back,  and  turning  gradually  on  his  side,  to  get  a 
better  view  of  the  position  of  his  enemy,  and  to  see  a  little 
more  distinctly  the  shapes  of  things)  stirred  the  embers 
with  his  toes  (readers,  I  had  every  word  of  this  from  his 
own  lips,  and  every  attitude  and  gesture  acted  out  with 
his  own  limbs),  until  he  saw  his  way  was  clear  ;  at  which 
moment,  with  his  lance  in  his  hands,  he  rose  and  drove  it 
through  the  body  of  his  enemy,  and  snatching  the  scalp 
from  his  head,  he  darted  from  the  lodge — and  quick  as 
lightning,  witli  the  lance  in  one  hand,  and  the  scalp  in  the 
other,  made  his  way  to  the  prairie !  The  village  was  in  an 
uproar,  but  he  was  off,  and  no  one  knew  the  enemy  who 
had  struck  the  blow.  Mah-to-toh-pa  ran  all  night,  and  lay 
close  during  the  days ;  thanking  the  Great  Spirit  for 
strengthening  his  heart  and  his  arm  to  this  noble  revenge ; 
and  prayed  fervently  for  a  continuance  of  his  aid  and  pro- 
tection till  he  should  get  back  to  his  own  village.  His 
prayers  were  hoard  ;  and  on  the  sixth  morning,  at  sunrise, 
Mah-to-toh-pa  descended  the  blufis,  and  entered  the  village 
amidst  deafening  .shouts  of  apj^lause,  while  he  brandished 
and  showed  to  his  people  the  blade  of  his  lance,  with  the 
blood  of  his  victim  dried  upon  it,  over  that  of  his  brother ; 
and  the  scalp  of  Wou-ga-tap  suspended  from  its  handle. 


''Ill 


NORTH  AMEEICAK  INDIANS. 


241 


In  the  portrait  of  which  I  am  speaking,  there  will  be 
seen  an  eagle's  quill  balanced  on  the  hilt  of  the  lance, 
severed  from  its  original  position,  and  loose  from  the 
weapon.  When  I  painted  his  portrait,  he  brought  that 
quill  to  my  wigwam  in  his  left  hand,  and  carefully  balanc- 
ing it  on  the  lance,  as  se.  n  i'  ;  painting,  he  desire''  ■^". 
to  bo  very  exact  with  it,  hav  appear  as  separate  u  .n, 
and  unconnected  with,  the  lance ;  and  to  represent  a  spot 
of  blood  which  was  visible  upon  it.  I  indulged  him  in  his 
request,  and  then  got  from  him  the  following  explanation : 
— "  That  quill  (said  he)  is  great  medicine  !  it  belongs  to  the 
Great  Spirit,  and  not  to  me — when  I  was  running  out  of 
the  lodge  of  Won-ga-tap,  I  looked  back  and  saw  that  quill 
hanging  to  the  wound  in  his  side ;  I  ran  back,  and  pulling 
it  out,  brought  it  home  in  my  left  hand,  and  I  have  kept 
it  for  the  Great  Spirit  to  this  day !" 

"Why  do  you  not  then  tie  it  onto  the  lance  again,  where 
it  came  off?" 

"  Hush-sh  (said  he),  if  the  Great  Spirit  had  wished  it  to 
be  tied  on  in  that  place,  it  never  would  have  come  off;  he 
has  been  kind  to  me,  and  I  will  not  olYend  him." 

A  party  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  Shienne  warriors 
had  made  an  assault  upon  the  Mandan  village  at  an  early 
hour  one  morning,  and  driven  off  a  considerable  number 
of  horses,  and  taken  one  scalp.  Mah-to-toh-pa,  vv'ho  was 
then  a  young  man,  but  filmed  as  one  of  the  most  valiant  of 
the  Mandans,  took  the  lead  of  a  party  of  fifty  warriors,  all 
he  could  at  that  time  muster,  and  went  in  pursuit  of  the 
enemy  ;  about  noon  of  the  second  day,  they  came  in  sight 
of  the  Shiennes ;  and  the  Mandans  seeing  their  enemy  much 
more  numerous  than  they  had  expected,  were  generally 
disposed  to  turn  about  and  return  without  attacking  them. 
They  started  to  go  back,  when  Mah-to-toh-pa  galloped  out 
in  front  upon  the  prairie,  and  plunged  his  lance  into  the 
ground ;  the  blade  was  driven  into  the  earth  to  its  hilt — 
lie  made  another  circuit  around,  and  in  that  circuit  tore 
from  his  breast  his  reddened  sash,  which  he  hung  upon  its 

16 


»m*%. 


•.  r  » ) 


242 


LETTERS  AXD  NOTES  ON  TUB 


handle  as  a  flag,  calling  out  to  the  Mandans,  "  What !  have 
we  come  to  this  ?  we  have  dogged  our  enemy  two  days,  and 
now  when  we  have  found  them,  are  we  to  turn  about  and  go 
back  like  cowards?  Mah-to-toh-pa's  lance,  which  is  red 
with  the  blood  of  brave  men,  has  led  you  to  the  sight  of 
your  enemy,  and  you  have  followed  it ;  it  now  stands  firm 
in  the  ground,  where  the  earth  will  drink  the  blood  of 
Mah-to-toh-pa  1  you  may  all  go  back,  and  Mah-to-toh-pa 
will  fight  them  ilone  I" 

During  this  manceuvre,  the  Shiennes,  who  had  discovered 
the  Mandans  behind  them,  had  turned  about  and  were  gradu- 
ally approaching,  in  order  to  give  them  battle;  the  chief  of 
the  Shienne  war-party  seeing  and  understanding  the  diffi. 
culty,  and  admiring  the  gallant  conduct  of  Mah-to-toh-pa 
galloped  his  horse  forward  within  hailing  distance,  in  front 
of  the  Mandans,  and  called  out  to  know  "  who  he  was  who 
had  stuck  down  his  lance  and  defied  the  whole  enemy  alono?" 

"  I  am  Mah-to-toh-pa,  second  in  comand  of  the  brave 
and  valiant  Mandans." 

'•  I  have  heard  often  of  Mah  to-tohpa,  he  is  a  great  war- 
rior— dares  Mah-to-toh-pa  to  come  forward  and  fight  this 
battle  with  me  alone,  and  our  warriors  will  look  on  ?" 

"  Is  he  a  chief  who  speaks  to  Mah-to-toh-pa  ?" 

"My  scalps  you  see  hanging  to  my  horse's  bits,  and  here 
is  my  lance  with  the  ermine  skins  and  the  war-eagle's  tail!" 

"  You  have  said  enough." 

The  Shienne  chief  made  a  circuit  or  two  at  full  gallop  on 
a  beautiful  white  horse,  when  he  struck  his  lance  into  the 
ground,  and  left  it  standing  by  the  side  of  the  lance  of  Mah- 
to-toh-pa,  both  of  which  were  waving  together  their  little 
red  flags — tokens  of  blood  and  defiance.  The  two  parties 
then  drew  nearer,  on  a  beautiful  prairie,  and  the  two,  full- 
plumed  chiefs,  at  full  speed,  drove  furiously  upon  each 
other  !  both  firing  their  guns  at  the  same  monient.  They 
passed  each  other  a  little  distance  and  whcelec,  when  Mah- 
totoh-pa  drew  oft'  his  powder-horn,  and  by  liolding  it  up, 
Khcwed  his  adversary  that  the  bullet  had  ihattered  it  to 


KORTH  AMERICAN  IKDIANS. 


248 


pieces  and  destroyed  his  ammunition ;  he  then  threw  it  from 
him,  and  his  gun  also — drew  his  bow  from  his  quiver,  and 
ail  arrow,  with  his  shield  upon  his  lefl;  arm  1  The  Shienne 
instantly  did  the  same;  his  horn  was  thrown  off,  and  his  gun 
Avas  thrown  into  the  air — his  shield  was  balanced  on  his  arm 
— his  bow  drawn,  and  quick  as  lightning,  they  were  both  on 
the  wing  for  a  deadly  combat !  Like  two  soaring  eagles  in  the 
open  air,  they  made  their  circuits  around,  and  the  twangs  ot 
their  sinewy  bows  were  heard,  and  the  war-whoop,  as  they 
dashed  by  each  other,  parrying  off  the  whizzing  arrows  with 
their  shields  1  Some  lodged  in  their  legs  and  others  in 
their  arms  but  both  protected  their  bodies  with  their  bucklers 
of  bull's  hide.  Deadly  and  many  were  the  shafts  that  fled 
from  their  murderous  bows.  At  length  the  horse  of  Mah- 
totoh-pa  fell  to  the  ground  with  an  arrow  in  his  heart ;  his 
rider  sprang  upon  his  feet  prepared  to  renew  the  combat ; 
but  the  Shienne,  seeing  his  adversary  dismounted,  sprang 
from  his  horse,  and  driving  him  back,  presented  the  face  ol 
his  shield  towards  his  enemy,  inviting  him  to  come  on  1 — 
a  few  shots  more  were  exchanged  thus,  when  the  ShiennCj 
having  discharged  all  his  arrows,  held  up  his  empty  quiver 
and  dashing  it  furiously  to  the  ground,  with  his  bow  and  his 
shield;  drew  and  brandished  his  naked  knife  1 

"  Yes ! "  said  Mah-to-toh-pa,  as  he  threw  his  shield  and 
quiver  to  the  earth,  and  was  rushing  up — he  grasped  for  his 
knife,  but  his  belt  had  it  not ;  he  had  left  it  at  home !  his  bow 
was  in  his  hand,  with  which  he  parried  his  antagonist's  blow 
and  f'lled  him  to  the  ground  1  A  desperate  struggle  now 
ensued  for  the  knife — the  blade  of  it  was  several  times  drawn 
through  the  right  hand  of  Mah-to-toh-pa  inflicting  the  most 
frightful  wounds,  while  he  was  severely  wounded  in  several 
parts  of  the  body.  He  at  length  succeeded,  however,  in  wrest- 
ing it  from  his  adversary's  hand,  and  plunged  it  to  his  heart. 

By  this  time  the  two  parties  had  drawn  up  in  close  view 
of  each  other,  and  at  the  close  of  the  battle,  Mah-to-toh-pa 
held  up,  and  claimed  in  deadly  silence,  the  knife  and  scalp 
of  the  noble  Shienne  chief. 


fll 


i 


r 


m 


MANDAN   UKDICINR  LODOE. 


LETTER  No.  XXII. 
MANDAN  VILLAGE,  VPFER  MISSOVRT. 

Oh  I  ^^  horribile  visu—et  mirabile  dictu/"  Thank  God,  it 
is  over,  that  I  have  seeu  it,  and  am  ablo  to  tell  it  to  the 
world. 

The  annual  religmu  ceremony,  of  four  days,  of  wliich  I 
have  so  often  "poken  and  which  I  have  so  long  been 
wishing  to  sec,  has  at  last  been  enacted  in  this  village; 
and  I  have,  fortunately,  been  able  to  see  and  to  nudcrstand 
it  in  most  of  its  bearings,  whiot  was  more  than  I  Lad 
reason  to  expect ;  for  no  white  man,  in  all  probability,  Las 
ever  been  before  admitted  to  the  medicine-lodge  during 
these  most  remarkable  and  appalling  scenes. 

Well  and  truly  has  it  been  aaid,  that  the  Mandans  are  a 

strange  and  peculiar  people ;  and  most  correctly  had  I  been 

informed,  that  this  was  an  important  and  interesting  scene, 

by  those  who  had,  on  former  occasions,  witnessed  such 

(241) 


II'  .1 


NORTH  AMEBICAIT   INDIANS. 


245 


parts  of  it  as  are  transacted  out  of  doors,  and  in  front  of 
the  viedicine'lodge. 

Since  the  date  of  my  last  Letter,  I  was  lucky  enough  to 
have  painted  the  medicine  man,  who  was  high-priest  on 
this  grand  occasion,  or  conductor  of  the  ceremonies,  who 
had  me  regularly  installed  doctor  or  "wificKane/"  and  who, 
on  the  morning  when  those  grand  refinements  in  mysteries 
commenced,  took  me  by  the  arm,  and  led  me  into  the 
medicine-lodge,  where  the  Fur  Trader,  Mr.  Kipp,  and  his 
two  clerks  accompanied  me  in  close  attendance  for  four 
(lays ;  all  of  us  going  to  our  own  quarters  at  sun-down, 
and  returning  again  at  sun-rise  the  next  morning. 

I  took  my  sketch-book  with  me,  and  have  made  many 
and  faithful  drawings  of  what  we  saw,  and  full  notes'  of 
everything  as  translated  tome  by  the  iaterpreter ;  and  since 
the  close  of  that  horrid  and  frightful  scene,  which  was  a 
week  ago  or  more,  I  have  been  closely  ensconced  in  an 
eartb-covered  wigwam,  witli  a  fine  sky-light  over  my  head 
with  ray  palette  and  brushes  endeavoring  faithfully  to  put 
the  whole  of  what  we  saw  upon  canvass,  which  my 
companions  all  agree  to  be  critically  correct,  and  of  the 
fidelity  of  which  they  have  attached  their  certificates  to 
the  backs  of  the  paintings.  I  have  made  four  paintings 
of  these  strange  scenes,  containing  several  hundred  figures, 
representing  the  transactions  of  each  day  ;  and  if  I  live  to 
get  them  home,  they  will  be  found  to  be  exceedingly 
curious  and  interesting. 

!  shudder  at  the  relation,  or  even  at  the  thought  of  these 
barbarous  and  cruel  scenes,  and  am  almost  ready  to  shrink 
from  the  task  of  reciting  them  after  I  have  so  long  promised 
some  account  of  them.  I  entered  the  medicine-house  of 
these  scenes,  as  I  would  have  entered  a  church,  and 
expected  to  see  something  extraordinary  and  strange,  but 
yet  in  the  form  of  worship  or  devotion;  but  alas  I  little 
did  I  expect  to  see  the  interior  of  their  holy  temple  turned 
into  a  slaughter-house,  and  its  floor  strev/'ed  with  the  blood 
of  its  fanatic  devotees.    Little  did  I  think  that  I  was 


I   il  !»■( 


ii 


m 


if 


\r-  ] 


m 


I      S 


.si  "  ^ 


246 


LETTERS  AND  N0TE3  ON  THE 


entering  a  house  of  God,  where  His  bliaded  worshippers 
were  to  pollute  its  sacred  interior  with  their  blood,  and 
propitiatory  suffering  and  tortures — surpassing,  if  possiblo, 
the  cruelty  of  the  rack  or  the  inquisition ;  but  such  the 
scene  has  been,  and  as  sueh  I  will  endeavor  to  describe  it. 
The  "  Mandan  religiotis  ceremony'^  then,  as  I  believe  it  is 
very  justly  denominated,  is  an  annual  transaction,  held  in 
their  medicine-lodge    onee   a  year,    as    a 


great 


relic 


10U3 


anniversary,  and  for  several  distinct  objects,  as  I  shall  in  a 
few  minutes  describe ;  during,  and  after  which,  they  look 
with  implicit  reliance  for  the  justification  and  approval  of 
the  Great  Spirit. 

All  of  the  Indian  tribes,  as  I  have  before  observed,  aro 
religious — are  worshipful — and  many  of  them  go  to  altnost 
incredible  lengths  (as  will  be  seen  in  the  present  instance 
and  many  others  I  may  recite)  in  worshipping  the  Groat 
Spirit ;  denying  and  humbling  themselves  before  Ilim  for 
the  same  purpose,  and  in  the  same  hope  as  wo  do,  perhaps 
in  a  more  rational  and  acceptable  way. 

The  tribes,  so  far  as  I  have  visited  them,  all  distinctly 
believe  in  the  existence  of  a  Great  (or  Good)  Spirit,  aa 
Evil  (or  Bad  Spirit,)  and  also  in  a  future  existence  ami 
future  accountability,  according  to  their  virtues  and  vices 
in  tills  world.  So  far  the  North  American  Indians  would 
seem  to  bo  one  family,  and  sucli  an  unbroken  theory 
amongst  them;  yet  with  regard  to  the  manner  and  form, 
and  time  and  place  of  that  accountability — to  the  con- 
structions of  virtues  and  vices,  and  the  modes  of  appeasini' 
and  propitiating  the  Good  and  Evil  Spirits,  they  aro  found 
with  all  the  changes  and  variety  which  fortuitous  oir- 
cumstances,  and  fictions,  and  fables  have  wrought  upon 
them. 

If  from  their  superstitions  and  their  ignorance,  there  arc 
oftentimes  obscurities  and  mysteries  thrown  over  and 
around  their  .system,  yet  these  affect  not  the  theory  itself, 
which  is  ovorywhcre  essentially  the  same — and  which,  if  it 
be  not  correct,  has  this  much  to  command  the  admiration 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


247 


of  tbo  enlightened  world,   that  they  worship  with  grcot 
eincerity,  and  all  according  to  one  creed. 

The  Mandans  believe  in  the  existence  of  a  Great  (or  Good) 
Spirit,  and  also  of  an  Evil  Spirit,  who  they  say  existed  long 
before  the  Good  Spirit,  and  is  far  superior  in  power.  They 
all  believe  also  in  a  future  state  of  existence,  and  a  future 
administration  of  rewards  and  punishments,  and  (so  do  all 
other  tribes  that  I  have  yet  visited)  they  believe  those  pu  i 
ishmcnts  are  not  eternal,  but  commensurate  with  their  sins. 

These  people  living  in  a  climate  whore  they  suffer  from 
cold  in  the  severity  of  their  winters,  have  very  naturally 
reversed  our  ideas  of  Heaven  and  Hell.  The  latter  they 
describe  to  be  a  country  very  far  to  the  north,  of  barren 
and  hideous  aspect,  and  covered  with  eternal  snows  and 
ice.  The  torments  of  this  freezing  place  they  describe  as 
most  excruciating;  whilst  Heaven  they  suppose  to  be  in  a 
warmer  and  delightful  latitude,  where  nothing  is  felt  but 
the  keenest  enjoyment,  and  where  the  country  abounds  in 
buffidoes  and  other  luxuries  of  life.  The  Great  or  Good 
Spirit  they  believe  dwells  in  the  former  place  for  the 
purpose  of  there  meeting  those  who  have  offended  him; 
increasing  the  agony  of  their  sufferings,  by  being  himself 
present,  administering  the  penalties.  The  Bad  or  Evil 
Spirit  they  at  the  same  time  suppose  to  reside  in  Paradise, 
still  tempting  the  happy ;  and  those  who  have  gone  to  the 
regions  of  punishment  they  believe  to  be  torturec'.  for  a 
time  proportioned  to  the  amount  of  their  transgrc  •:  .iis, 
and  that  they  are  then  to  be  transferred  to  the  land  of  the 
happy,  where  they  arc  again  liable  to  the  temptations  of 
the  Evil  Spirit,  and  answerable  again  at  a  future  period  for 
their  new  offences. 

Such  is  the  religious  creed  of  the  Mandans,  and  for  the 
purpose  of  appeasing  the  Good  and  Evil  Spirits,  and  to 
secure  their  entrance  into  those  "fields  Elysian,"  or  beauti- 
ful hunting  grounds,  do  the  young  men  subject  themselves 
to  the  horrid  and  sickening  cruelties  to  be  described  in  tbo 
following  pages. 


' 


«^"-it, 


1 


i 


.  V*-*-      I       ( 


248 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


There  are  other  three  distinct  objects  for  which  those 
religious  ceremonies  are  held,  which  are  as  follow: — 

First,  they  are  held  annually  as  a  celebration  of  the 
event  of  the  subsiding  of  the  Flood,  which  they  call  Mee- 
nee-ro-Ica-ha-sha,  (sinking  down  or  settling  of  the  waters.) 

Secmidly,  for  the  purpose  of  dancing  what  they  call, 
Bel-lohck-na-].ic  (the  bull-dance);  to  the  strict  observance  of 
which  they  attribute  the  coming  of  buffaloes  to  supply 
them  with  food  during  the  season ;  and 

Thirdly  and  lastly,  for  the  purpose  of  conducting  all  tlie 
young  men  of  the  tribe,  as  they  annually  arrive  to  the  age 
of  manhood,  through  an  ordeal  of  privation  and  torture, 
which,  while  it  is  supposed  to  harden  their  muscles  and 
prepare  them  for  extreme  endurance,  enables  the  chiefs 
who  are  spectators  to  the  scene,  to  decide  upon  their 
comparative  bodily  strength  and  ability  to  endure  the 
extreme  privations  and  sufferings  that  often  fall  to  the  lots 
of  Indian  warriors  ;  and  that  they  may  decide  who  is  the 
most  hardy  and  best  able  to  lead  a  war-party  in  case  of 
extreme  exigency. 

This  part  of  the  ceremony,  as  I  have  just  witnessed  it,  is 
truly  shocking  to  behold,  and  will  almost  stagger  iIk; 
belief  of  the  world  when  they  read  of  it.  Tlie  scene  is  too 
terrible  and  too  revolting  to  be  seen  or  to  be  told,  were  it 
not  an  essential  part  of  a  whole,  which  will  be  new  to  the 
civilized  world,  and  therefore  worth  their  knowing. 

The  bull-dance,  and  many  other  parts  of  these  ceremonies 
are  exceedingly  grotesque  and  amusing,  and  that  part  of 
them  which  has  a  relation  to  the  Deluge  is  harmless  and 
full  of  interest. 

In  the  centre  of  the  Mandan  village  is  an  open,  circular 
area  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  diameter,  kept  always 
clear,  as  a  public  ground,  for  the  display  of  all  their  public 
feasts,  parades,  &c.  and  around  it  are  their  wigwams  placed 
as  near  to  each  other  as  they  can  well  stand,  their  doors 
facing  tiie  centre  of  this  public  area. 
In  the  middle  of  this  ground,  which  is  trodden  like  a 


■tUli 


ii 
If 

[a 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


249 


hard  pavement,  is  a  curb  (somewhat  like  a  large  hogshead 
standing  on  its  end)  made  of  planks  (and  bound  with 
hoops),  some  eight  or  nine  feet  high,  whioh  they  religiously 
preserve  nd  protect  from  year  to  year,  free  from  mark  or 
scratch,  and  which  they  call  the  "big  canoe" — it  is 
undoubtedly  a  symbolic  representation  of  a  part  of  their 
traditional  history  of  the  Flood ;  which  it  is  very  evident, 
from  this  and  numerous  other  features  of  this  grand 
ceremony,  they  have  in  some  way  or  other  received,  and 
are  here  endeavoring  to  perpetuate  by  vividly  impressing 
it  on  the  minds  of  the  whole  nation.  This  object  of 
superstition,  from  its  position,  as  the  very  centre  of  the 
village  is  the  rallying  point  of  the  whole  nation.  To  it 
their  devotions  are  paid  on  various  occasions  of  feasts  and 
religious  exercises  during  the  year;  and  in  this  extra- 
ordinary scene  it  was  often  the  nucleus  of  their  mysteries 
and  cruelties,  as  I  shall  shortly  describe  them,  and  becomes 
an  object  worth  bearing  in  mind,  and  worthy  of  being 
understood. 

This  exciting  and  appalling  scene,  then,  which  is 
familiarly  (and  no  doubt  correctly)  called  the  "Mandan 
religious  ceremony,"  commences,  not  on  a  particular  day  of 
the  year,  (for  these  people  keep  no  record  of  days  or 
weeks),  but  a  particular  season,  which  is  designated  by  the 
full  expansion  of  the  willow  leaves  under  the  bank  of  the 
river;  for  according  to  their  tradition,  "the  twig  that  the 
bird  brought  home  was  a  willow  bough,  and  had  full-grown 
leaves  on  it,"  and  the  bird  to  which  they  allude,  is  the 
mourning  or  turtle-dove,  which  they  took  great  pains  to 
point  out  to  me,  as  it  is  often  to  be  seen  feeding  on  the 
sides  of  their  earth  covered  lodges,  and  which,  being,  as 
they  call  it,  a  medicine-bird,  is  not  to  be  destroyed  or  harmed 
by  any  one,  and  even  their  dogs  are  instructed  not  to  do  it 
injury. 

On  the  morning  of  which  this  strange  transaction  com- 
menced, I  was  sitting  at  breakfast  in  the  house  of  the 
Trader,  Mr.  Kipp,  when  at  sunrise,  we  were  suddenly 


'  !'•'  II 

mm 

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■-».■ 


250 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


Startled  by  the  shrieking  and  screaming  of  the  women,  and 
barking  and  howling  of  dogs,  as  if  an  enemy  were  actually 
storming  their  village. 

"Now  we  have  itl"  (exclaimed  mine  host,  as  he  sprang 

from  the  table),  "the  grand  ceremony  has  commenced! 

drop  your  knife  and  fork,  Monsr.  and  get  your  sketch-book 
as  soon  as  possible,  that  you  may  lose  nothing,  for  the 
very  moment  of  commencing  is  as  curious  as  anything  else 
of  this  strange  affair."  T  seized  my  sketch-book,  and  all 
hands  of  us  were  in  an  instant  in  front  of  the  medicine- 
lodge,  ready  to  see  and  to  hear  all  that  was  to  take  place. 
Groups  of  women  and  children  were  gathered  on  the  tops 
of  their  earth-covered  wigwams,  and  all  were  screaming, 
and  dogs  were  howling,  and  all  eyes  directed  to  the  prairies 
in  the  West,  where  was  beheld,  at  a  mile  distant,  a  solitary 
individual  descending  a  prairie  bluff,  and  making  his  way 
in  a  direct  line  towards  the  village ! 

The  whole  community  joined  in  the  general  expression 
of  great  alarm,  as  if  they  were  in  danger  of  instant  des- 
truction ;  bows  were  strung  and  thrumed  to  test  their 
elasticity — their  horses  were  caught  upon  the  prairie  and 
run  into  the  village — warriors  were  blackening  their  faces, 
and  dogs  were  muzzled,  and  every  preparation  made,  as  if 
for  instant  combat. 

During  this  deafening  din  and  confasion  within  the 
piquets  of  the  village  of  the  Mandans,  the  figure  discovered 
on  the  prairie  continued  to  approach  with  a  dignified  step 
and  in  a  right  line  towards  the  village ;  all  eyes  were  upon 
him,  and  he  n.i  length  made  his  appearance  (without  oppo- 
sition) within  the  piquets,  and  proceeded  towards  the 
centre  of  the  village,  where  all  the  chiefs  and  braves  stood 
ready  to  receive  him,  which  they  did  in  a  cordial  manner, 
by  shaking  hands  with  him,  recognizing  him  as  an  old 
acquaintance,  and  pronouncing  his  name  Nu-mohkmuck-a- 
nah  (the  first  or  only  man).  The  body  of  this  strange 
personage,  which  was  chiefly  naked,  was  painted  with 
white  clay,  so  as  to  resemble  at  a  little  distance,  a  white 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


251 


man ;  he  wore  a  robe  of  four  white  wolf  skins  falling  back 
over  hia  shoulders ;  on  his  head  he  had  a  splendid  head- 
dress made  of  two  ravens'  skins,  and  in  his  left  hand  he 
cautiously  carried  a  large  pipe,  which  he  seemed  to  watch 
and  guard  as  something  of  great  importance.  After 
passing  the  chiefs  and  braves  as  described,  he  approached 
the  medicine  or  mystery  lodge,  which  he  had  the  means  of 
opening,  and  which  had  been  religiously  closed  during  the 
year  except  for  the  performance  of  these  religious  rites. 

Having  opened  and  entered  it,  he  called  in  four  men 
whom  he  appointed  to  clean  it  out,  and  put  in  readiness  for 
the  ceremonies,  by  sweeping  it  and  strewing  a  profusion  of 
green  willow-boughs  over  its  floor,  and  with  them  decora- 
ting its  sides.  Wild  sage  also,  and  many  other  aromatic 
herbs  they  gathered  fruin  the  prairies,  and  scattered  over 
its  floor ;  and  over  these  were  arranged  a  curious  group  of 
buffalo  and  human  skulls,  and  other  articles,  which  were 
to  be  used  during  this  strange  and  unaccountable  trans- 
action. 

During  the  whole  of  this  day,  and  while  these  prepara- 
tions were  making  in  the  medicine-lodge^  Nu-mohk-muck- 
a-nah  (the  first  or  only  man)  travelled  through  the  village, 
t^topping  in  front  of  every  man's  lodge,  and  crying  until 
the  owner  of  the  lodge  came  out,  and  asked  who  he  was, 
and  what  was  the  matter  ?  to  which  he  replied  by  relating 
the  sad  catastrophe  which  had  happened  on  the  earth's 
surface  by  the  overflowing  of  the  waters,  saying  that  "  he 
was  the  only  person  saved  from  the  universal  calamity; 
that  he  landed  his  big  canoe  on  a  high  mountain  in  the 
west,  where  he  now  resides;  that  he  had  come  to  open  the 
medicine-lodge,  v\'hich  must  needs  receive  a  present  of  some 
cJgcd-tool  from  the  owner  of  every  wigwam,  that  it  may 
be  sacrificed  to  the  water ;  for  he  says,  "  if  this  is  not  done, 
there  will  be  another  flood,  and  no  one  will  bo  saved,  as  it 
was  with  such  tools  that  the  big  canoe  was  made." 

Having  visited  every  lodge  or  wigwam  in  the  village, 
during  the  day,  and  having  received  such  a  present  at 


1 '■!•'< 


M  .[:,!: 


262 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


each,  as  a  hatchet,  a  knife,  &o.  (which  is  undoubtedly 
always  prepared  and  ready  for  the  occasion,)  he  returned 
at  evening  and  deposited  them  in  the  medicine-lodge,  where 
they  remained  until  the  afternoon  of  the  last  day  of  the 
ceremony,  when,  as  the  final  or  closing  scene,  they  were 
thrown  into  the  river  in  a  deep  place,  from  a  bank  thirty 
feet  high,  and  in  presence  of  the  whole  village;  from 
whence  they  can  never  be  recovered,  and  where  they  were 
undoubtedly,  sacrificed  to  the  Spirit  of  the  Water. 

During  the  first  night  of  this  strange  character  in  the 
village,  no  one  could  tell  where  lie  slept ;  and  every  person 
both  old  and  young,  and  dogs,  and  all  living  things  were 
kept  within  doors,  and  dead  silence  reigned  every  where. 
On  the  next  morning  at  sunrise,  however,  he  made  his 
appearance  again,  and  entered  the  medicine-lodge ;  and  at 
his  heels  (in  ^' Indian  file  "  i.  e.,  single  file,  one  following  in 
another's  tracks)  all  the  young  men  who  were  candidates 
for  the  self-tortures  which  were  to  be  inflicted,  and  for  the 
honors  that  were  to  be  bestowed  by  the  chiefs  on  those  who 
could  most  manfully  endure  them.  There  were  on  this 
occasion  about  fifty  young  men  who  entered  the  lists,  and 
as  they  went  into  the  sacred  lodge,  each  one's  body  was 
chiefly  naked,  and  covered  with  clay  of  different  colors ; 
some  were  red,  others  were  yellow,  and  some  were  covered 
with  white  clay,  giving  them  the  appearance  of  white  men. 
Each  one  of  them  carried  in  his  right  liand  his  medicine-hag 
— on  his  left  arm,  his  shield  of  the  bull's  hide — in  his  left 
hand  his  bow  and  arrows,  with  his  quiver  slung  on  his 
back. 

When  all  had  entered  the  lodge,  they  placed  themselves 
in  reclining  postures  around  its  sides,  and  each  one  had 
suspended  over  hia  head  his  respective  weapons  and 
medicine,  presenting  altogether,  one  of  the  most  wild  and 
picturesque  scenes  imaginable. 

Nu-mohk-muck-a  nah  (the  first  or  only  man)  was  in  the 
midst  of  them,  and  having  lit  and  smoked  his  medicine- 
pipe  for  their  success;  and  having  addressed  them  in  a 


NORTH  AMKEICAN  INDIANS. 


258 


short  speech,  stimulating  aud  encouraging  them  to  trust  to 
the  Great  Spirit  for  His  protection  during  the  severe 
ordeal  they  were  about  to  pass  through ;  he  called  into  the 
lodge  an  old  medicine  or  mystery-man,  whose  body  was 
painted  yellow,  and  whom  he  appointed  master  of  ceremo- 
nies during  this  occasion,  whom  they  denominated  in  their 
language  0-kee-pah  Ka-se-kah  (keeper  or  conductor  of  the 
ceremonies.)  He  was  appointed,  and  the  authority  passed 
by  the  presentatioji  of  the  medicine-pipe,  on  which  they 
consider  hangs  all  the  power  of  holding  and  conducting  all 
these  rites. 

After  this  delegated  authority,  had  thus  passed  over  to 
the  medicine-man ;  Nu-mohk-muck-a-nah  shook  hands 
with  him,  and  bade  him  good  bye,  saying  "  that  he  was 
going  back  to  the  mountains  in  the  west,  from  whence  he 
should  assuredly  return  in  just  a  year  from  that  time,  to 
open  the  loage  again."  He  then  went  out  of  the  lodge,  and 
passing  through  the  village,  took  formal  leave  of  the  chiefs 
in  the  same  manner,  and  soon  disappeared  over  the  bluffs 
from  whence  he  came.  No  more  was  seen  of  this  surpris- 
ing character  during  the  occasion ;  but  I  shall  have  some- 
thing yet  to  say  of  him  and  his  strange  office  before  I  get 
through  the  Letter. 

To  return  to  the  lodge — the  medicine  or  myStery-raan 
just  appointed,  and  who  had  received  his  injunctions  from 
Nu-mohk-muck-a-nah,  was  left  sole  conductor  and  keeper  ; 
and  according  to  those  injunctions,  it  was  his  duty  to  lie 
by  a  small  fire  in  the  centre  of  the  lodge,  with  his  medicine- 
pipe  in  his  hand,  crying  to  the  Great  Spirit  incessantly, 
watching  the  young  men,  and  preventing  entirely  their 
escape  from  the  lodge,  and  all  communication  whatever 
with  people  outside,  for  the  space  of  four  days  and  nights, 
during  which  time  they  were  not  allowed  to  eat,  or  drink, 
or  to  sleep,  preparatory  to  the  excruciating  self-tortures 
which  they  were  to  endure  on  the  fourth  day. 

I  mentioned  that  I  had  made  four  paintings  of  these 
strange  scenes,  and  the  first  one  exhibits  the  interior  of  the 


I        tl'! 


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Uiii 


254 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


medicine -lodge  at  this  moment;  with  the  young  men  all 
reclining  around  its  sides,  and  the  conductor  or  mystery- 
man  lying  by  the  fire,  crying  to  the  Great  Spirit.  It 
was  just  at  this  juncture  that  I  was  ushered  into  this 
sacred  temple  of  their  worship,  with  my  companions 
which  was,  undoubtedly,  the  first  time  that  their  devotions 
had  ever  been  trespassed  upon  by  the  presence  of  pale 
faces ;  and  in  this  instance  had  been  brought  about  in  the 
following  strange  and  unexpected  manner. 

I  had  most  luckily  for  myself,  painted  a  full-length 
portrait  of  this  great  magician  or  high-priest,  but  a  day 
previous  to  the  commencement  of  the  ceremonies  (in  which 
I  had  represented  him  in  the  performance  of  some  of  his 
mysteries),  with  which  he  had  been  so  exceedingly  pleased 
as  well  as  astonished  (as  "  he  could  see  its  eyes  move,") 
that  I  must  needs  be,  in  his  opinion,  deeply  skilled  in 
magic  and  mysteries,  and  well-entitled  to  a  respectable 
rank  in  the  craft,  to  which  I  had  been  at  once  elevated  by 
the  unanimous  voice  of  the  doctors,  and  regularly  initiated, 
and  styled  Te-ho-pee-nee-wash-ee-ivaska-jHXfska,  the  white 
medicine  (or  Spirit)  painter. 

With  this  very  honorable  degree  which  had  just  been 
conferred  upon  me,  I  was  standing  in  front  of  the  medicine- 
lodge  early  in  the  morning,  with  my  companions  by  my 
side,  endeavoring  to  get  a  peep,  if  possible,  into  its  sacred 
interior  ;  when  this  master  of  ceremonies,  guarding  and  con- 
ducting its  secrets,  as  I  before  described,  came  out  of  the 
door  and  taking  me  with  a  firm  professional  affection  by 
the  arm,  led  me  into  this  sanctum  sanctorum,  which  was 
strictly  guarded  from,  even  a  peep  or  a  gaze  from  the 
vulgar,  by  a  vestibule  of  eight  or  ten  feet  in  length, 
guarded  with  a  double  screen  or  door,  and  two  or  three 
dark  and  frowning  sentinels  with  spears  or  war-clubs  in 
their  hands.  I  gave  the  wink  to  my  companions  as  I  was 
passing  in,  and  the  potency  of  my  medicine  was  such  as  to 
gain  them  a  quiet  admission,  and  all  of  us  were  comfortably 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


255 


placed    on    elevated   seats,    ■which    our    conductor    soon 
prepared  for  us. 

We  were  then  in  full  view  of  everything  that  transpired 
in  the  lodge,  having  before  us  the  scene  exactly.  To  this 
seat  we  returned  every  morning  at  sunrise,  and  remained 
until  sun-down  for  four  days,  the  whole  time  which  these 
strange  scenes  occupied. 

In  addition  to  the  preparation?  nd  arrangements  of  the 
interior  of  this  sanctuary,  as  before  described,  there  was  a 
curious,  though  a  very  strict  arrangement  of  buffalo  and 
human  skulls  placed  on  the  floor  of  the  lodge,  and  between 
them  (which  were  divided  into  two  parcels),  and  in  front 
of  the  reclining  group  of  young  candidates,  was  a  small 
and  very  delicate  scaffold,  elevated  about  five  feet  from 
the  ground,  made  of  four  posts  or  crotches,  not  larger  than 
a  gun-rod,  and  placed  some  four  or  five  feet  apart,  sup- 
porting four  equally  delicate  rods,  resting  in  the  crotches ; 
thus  forming  the  frame  of  the  scaffold,  which  was  completed 
by  a  number  of  still  smaller  and  more  delicate  sticks, 
transversly  resting  upon  them.  On  the  centre  of  this  little 
frame  rested  some  small  object,  which  I  could  not  exactly 
understand  from  the  distance  of  twenty  or  thirty  feet  which 
intervened  between  it  and  my  eye.  I  started  several  times 
from  my  seat  to  approach  it,  but  all  eyes  were  instantly 
upon  me,  and  every  mouth  in  the  assembly  dent  forth  a 
hush — sh — !  which  brought  me  back  to  my  seat  again  ; 
and  I  at  length  quieted  my  stifled  curiosity  as  well  as  I 
could,  upon  learning  the  fact,  that  so  sacred  was  that 
object,  and  so  important  its  secrets  or  mysteries,  that  not 
I  alone,  but  even  the  young  men,  who  were  passing  the 
ordeal,  and  all  the  village,  save  the  conductor  of  the 
mysteries,  were  stopped  from  approaching  it,  or  knowing 
what  it  was. 

This  little  mystery- thing,  whatever  it  was,  had  the  ap- 
pearance from  where  I  sat,  of  a  small  tortoise,  or  frog,  lying 
on  its  back,  with  its  head  and  legs  quite  extended,  and 
wound  and  tasselled  off  with  exceedingly  delicate  red  and 


1^ 


26B 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


blue,  and  yellow  ribbons  or  tassels,  and  other  bright 
colored  ornaments ;  and  seemed,  from  the  devotions  paid 
to  it,  to  be  the  very  nucleus  of  their  mysteries — the  sane- 
tissimus  sanctorum,  from  which  seemed  to  emanate  all  the 
sanctity  of  their  proceedings,  and  to  which,  all  seemed  ♦,o 
be  paying  the  highest  devotional  respect. 

This  strange,  yet  important  essence  of  their  mysteries,  I 
made  every  enquiry  about;  but  got  no  further  information 
of,  than  what  I  could  learn  by  my  eyes,  at  ~  )  distance  at 
which  I  saw  it,  and  from  the  silent  respect  which  I  saw 
paid  to  it.  I  tried  with  the  doctors,  and  all  of  the  fraternity 
answered  me,  that  that  was  "  great-medicine,"  assuring  mo 
that  it  "  could  not  be  told."  So  I  quieted  my  curiosity  as 
well  as  I  could,  by  the  full  conviction  that  I  had  a  degree  or 
two  yet  to  take  before  I  could  fathom  all  the  arcana  of 
Indian  superstitions;  and  that  this  little,  seemingly 
wonderful,  relic  of  antiquity,  symbol  of  some  grand  event 
or  "  secret  too  valuable  to  be  told,"  might  have  been  at  last 
nothing  but  a  silly  bunch  of  strings  and  toys,  to  which 
they  pay  some  great  peculiar  regard ;  giving  thereby  to 
some  favorite  Spirit  or  essence  an  ideal  existence,  and 
which,  when  called  upon  to  describe,  they  refuse  to  do  so, 
calling  it  "  Great  Medicine"  for  the  very  reason  that  there 
is  nothing  in  it  to  reveal  or  describe. 

Immediately  under  the  little  frame  or  scaffold  described, 
and  on  the  floor  of  the  lodge  was  placed  a  knife,  and  by  the 
side  of  it  a  bundle  of  splints  or  skewers,  which  were  kept 
in  readiness  for  the  infliction  of  the  cruelties  directly  to  be 
explained.  There  were  seen  also,  in  this  stage  of  the  affair, 
a  number  of  cords  of  rawhide,  hanging  down  from  the  top 
of  the  lodge,  and  passing  through  its  roof,  with  which  the 
young  men  were  to  bo  suspended  by  the  splints  passed 
tlirougli  their  flesh,  and  drawn  up  by  men  placed  on  the  top 
of  the  lodge  for  the  purpose,  as  will  be  described  in  a  few 
moments. 

There  were  also  four  articles  of  great  veneration  and 
importance  lying  on  the  floor  of  the  lodge,  which  were 


'^■'•'U.iij^ 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


257 


sacks,  containing  in  each,  some  three  or  four  gallons  of 
water.  These  also  were  objects  of  superatitious  regard, 
and  made  with  great  labor  and  much  ingenuity ;  each  one 
of  them  being  constructed  of  the  skin  of  the  buffalo's  neck, 
and  most  elaborately  sewed  together  in  the  form  of  a  large 
tortoise  lying  on  its  back,  with  a  bunch  of  eagle's  quills 
appended  to  it  as  a  tail ;  and  each  of  them  having  a  stick, 
shaped  like  a  drum-stick,  lying  on  them,  with  which,  in  a 
subsequent  stage  of  these  ceremonies,  as  will  be  seen,  they 
are  beaten  upon  by  several  of  their  mystery-men,  as  a  part 
of  the  music  for  their  strange  dances  and  mysteries.  By 
the  side  of  these  sacks  which  they  call  Eeh-tech-ka,  are  two 
other  articles  of  equal  importance,  which  they  call  Eeh-na- 
dee  (rattles),  in  the  form  of  a  gourd-shell  made  also  of  dried 
skins,  and  used  at  the  same  time  as  the  others,  in  the  music 
(or  rather  noise  and  din)  for  their  dances,  &c. 

These  four  sacks  of  water  have  the  appearance  of  very 
great  antiquity ;  and  by  enquiring  of  my  very  ingenious 
friend  and  patron,  the  medicine-man,  after  the  ceremonies 
were  over,  he  very  gravely  told  me,  that  "those  four  tor- 
toises contained  the  waters  from  the  four  quarters  of  the 
world — that  these  waters  had  been  contained  therein  ever 
since  the  settling  down  of  the  waters  I "  I  did  not  think  it 
best  to  advance  any  argument  against  so  ridiculous  a 
theory,  and  therefore  could  not  even  enquire  or  learn,  at 
what  period  they  had  been  instituted,  or  how  often,  or  on 
what  occasions,  the  water  in  them  had  been  changed  or 
replenished. 

I  made  several  propositions,  through  my  friend  Mr. 
Kipp,  the  trader  and  interpreter,  to  purchase  one  of  these 
strange  things  by  offering  them  a  very  liberal  price;  to 
which  I  received  in  answer  that  these,  and  all  the  very 
numerous  articles  used  in  these  ceremonies,  being  a  society 
propcrtij  were  medicine,  and  could  not  be  sold  for  any 
consiiieration ;  so  I  abandoned  all  thoughts  of  obtaining 
anything,  except  what  I  have  done  by  the  medicine  operation 
of  my  pencil,  which  was  applied  to  everything,  and  even 

17 


m  '^^^ 


<im 


...%  A' 


irfll   :'m 


258 


LETTKRS  AND  N0TE3  OX  THK 


upon  that  thoy  looked  with  vlecided  distrust  and  apprehcn- 
sion,  as  a  sort  of  theft  or  saerilego. 

Such  then  was  the  group,  and  such  the  appearance  of 
the  interior  of  the  niedicine-lo<lgo  durinj?  the  first  three 
and  part  of  the  fourth  day  also,  of  tho  Mandan  rehgious 
coremonio-.  Tho  medicine-man  with  a  group  about  him 
of  young  aspirants  who  wero  under  his  solo  control,  as 
was  every  article  and  implement  to  be  used,  and  the 
sanctity  of  this  solitary  and  gloomy  looking  place,  whicli 
could  not  bt.-  trespassed  upon  hy  any  man's  presence 
without  his  most  sovereign  permission. 

Daring  tho  first  three  days  of  this  solemn  conclave,  there 
were  many  very  curious  f()rins  and  amusement;^  enacted  in 
the  open  area  in  the  middle  of  tlie  village,  and  in  front  of 
the  medicine-lodge,  by  other  members  of  the  community 
one  of  which  formed  a  material  part  or  link  of  these  strantfc 
cc. ^menials.  This  very  curious  and  exceedingly  grotesque 
part  of  their  performance,  which  they  denominated  Bel- 
hchk-nahpkk  (the  bull-dance) — of  which  I  have  before 
spoken,  as  on-e  of  the  avowed  objects  for  which  they  held 
this  annual  fotc ;  and  to  the  strictest  observance  of  which 
they  attribute  the  coming  of  bufi'aloes  to  supply  them  with 
food  during  the  season — is  repeated  four  times  during  the 
first  day.  eight  times  on  tho  second  day,  twelve  times  on 
the  third  day,  and  sixteen  times  on  the  fourth  day;  and 
always  around  the  curb,  or  ^^hig  canoe,^^  of  which  I  have 
bef)re  spoken. 

The  principal  actors  in  it  were  eight  men,  with  the 
entire  skins  of  buflalocs  thro^vn  over  their  backs,  with  tlic 
horns  and  hoofs  and  tails  remaining  on ;  their  bodies  in  a 
horizontal  position,  enabling  them  to  imitate  the  actions 
of  the  buffalo,  whilst  they  were  looking  out  of  its  eyes  as 
through  a  mask. 

The  bodies  of  these  men  were  chiefly  naked  and  all 
painted  in  the  most  extraordinary  manner,  with  the  nicest 
adherence  to  exact  similarity;  thei:-  limbs,  bodies  and 
faces,  being  in  every  part  covered,  eithci'  wich  black,  red  or 


NORTH  AMERICj^N  INDIANS. 


269 


white  paint.  Each  one  of  these  strange  characters  had  also 
a  lock  of  buffalo's  hair  tied  around  his  ancles — in  his  right 
haiul  a  rattle,  and  a  slender  white  rod  or  staff,  six  feet  long, 
in  the  other ;  and  carried  on  his  baok,  a  bunch  of  green 
willow  boughs  about  the  usual  size  of  a  bundle  of  straw. 
These  eight  men,  being  divided  into  four  pairs,  took  their 
positions  on  the  four  different  sides  of  the  curb  or  big 
cauoc,  representing  thereby  the  four  cardinal  points ;  and 
between  each  group  of  them,  with  the  back  turned  to  the 
big  canoe,  was  another  figure,  engaged  in  the  same  dance, 
keeping  step  with  them,  with  a  similar  staff  or  wand  in  one 
hand  and  a  rattle  in  the  other,  and  (being  four  in  number) 
answering  again  to  the  four  cardinal  points.  The  bodies  of 
those  four  young  men  were  chiefly  naked,  with  no  other 
dress  upon  them  than  a  beautiful  kelt  (or  qr.artz-quaw), 
around  the  waist,  made  of  eagles'  quills  and  ermine,  and 
very  splendid  head-dresses  made  of  the  same  materials. 
Two  of  these  figures  were  painted  entirely  black  with 
pounded  charcoal  and  grease,  whom  they  called  the  "firma- 
ment or  night,"  and  the  numerous  white  spots  which  were 
dotted  all  over  their  bodies,  they  called  "stars."  The  other 
two  were  painted  from  head  to  foot  as  red  as  vermilion 
could  make  them;  these  they  said  represented  the  day,  and 
the  white  streaks  which  were  painted  up  and  down  over 
their  bodies,  were  "ghosts  which  the  morning  rays  were 
chasing  away." 

Those  twelve  are  the  only  persons  actually  engaged  in 
thi.  strange  dance,  which  is  each  time  repeated  in  the  same 
form,  without  the  slightest  variation.  There  are,  however, 
a  great  number  of  characters  engaged  in  giving  the  whole 
effect  and  wildncss  to  this  strange  and  laughable  scene,  each 
one  acting  well  his  part,  and  whose  oflices,  strange  and  in- 
ex[)licable  as  they  are,  I  will  endeavor  to  point  out  and 
explain  as  well  as  I  can,  from  what  I  saw,  elucidated  by 
their  own  descriptions. 

This  most  remarkable  scene,  then,  which  is  witnessed 
more  o:  less  often  on  each  day,  takes  place  in  presence  of 


U4 


%!i' 


I 


A' 


■i  ■>, 


m 


'T '  m 


L^. 


260 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


the  whole  nation,  who  are  generally  gathered  around,  on 
the  tops  of  the  wigwam.s  or  otherwise,  as  spectators,  whilst 
the  young  men  are  reclining  and  lasting  in  the  lodge  as 
above  described.  On  the  lirst  day,  this  "  bull  t/ance"  is  given 
once  to  each  of  the  cardinal  points,  and  the  mcdicino-man 
smokes  his  pipe  in  those  directitnis.  On  the  second  day, 
twice  to  each;  three  times  to  each  on  the  third  day,  and/oi/r 
times  to  each  on  the  fourth.  As  a  signal  for  the  dancers 
and  other  characters  (as  well  as  the  public)  to  assemble 
the  old  man,  master  of  ceremonies,  with  the  medicine- 
pipe  in  hand,  dances  out  of  the  lodge,  singing  (or  rather 
crying)  forth  a  most  pitiful  lament,  until  he  approaches  tlic 
big  canoe,  against  which  ho  leans,  with  the  pipe  in  his 
hand,  and  continues  to  cry.  At  this  instant,  four  very  aged 
and  patriarchal  looking  men,  whoso  bodies  are  painted 
red,  and  who  have  been  guarding  the  four  sides  of  the 
lodge,  enter  it  and  bring  out  the  four  sacks  of  water,  wliich 
they  place  near  the  big  canoe,  where  they  seat  themselves 
by  the  side  of  them  and  commence  thumping  on  them  with 
the  mallets  or  drumsticks  which  have  been  lying  on  thoni; 
and  another  brandishes  and  shakes  the  eeh-na-decs  or  rattles, 
and  all  unite  to  them  their  voices,  raised  to  the  highest 
pitch  possible,  as  the  music  for  tho  bull-dance,  which  is 
then  commenced  and  continued  for  fifteen  minutes  or  inoro 
in  perfect  time,  and  without  cessation  or  intermission. 
When  the  music  and  dancing  stop,  which  arc  always  per- 
fectly simultaneous,  the  whole  nation  raise  the  huzz:il  and 
a  deafening  shout  of  approbation ;  the  master  of  ceremonies 
dances  back  to  the  medicine-lodge,  and  the  old  men  rctura 
to  their  former  place;  the  sacks  of  water  and  all,  rest  as 
bcforCi  until  by  the  same  method,  they  arc  again  called  into 
a  similar  action. 

The  supernumeraries  or  other  characters  who  play  their 
parts  in  this  grand  spectacle,  are  numerous  and  well  wortli 
description.  By  the  side  of  the  big  canoe  arc  seen  two 
men  with  tho  skins  of  grizzly  bears  thrown  over  tlioin, 
using  the  skins  as  a  nia.sk,  over  their  heads.     These  raven- 


^^..uii 


170BTU  AMERICAN   INDIANS. 


261 


ous  animtils  aro  continually  growling  and  threatening  to 
devour  every  thing  before  them  and  interfering  With  the 
forms  of  the  religious  ceremony.  To  appease  them,  tho 
women  aro  continually  bringing  and  placing  before  them 
dishes  of  meat,  which  are  as  often  snatched  up  and  carried 
to  the  prairie,  by  two  men  whose  bodies  arc  painted  black 
and  their  heads  white,  whom  they  call  bald  eagles,  who  aro 
darting  by  them,  and  grasping  their  food  from  before  them 
as  they  pass.  These  aro  again  chased  upon  the  plains  by 
a  hundred  or  more  small  boys  who  are  naked,  with  their 
bodies  painted  yellow  and  their  heads  white,  whom  thoy 
call  Cabris  or  antelopes ;  who  at  length  get  the  food  away 
from  them  and  devour  it,  thereby  inculcating  (perhaps)  tho 
beautiful  moral,  that  by  the  disi)ensations  of  Providence, 
his  bountiful  gifts  will  fall  at  lust  to  the  hands  of  tho 
innocent. 

During  the  intervals!  between  these  dances,  all  these 
characters,  except  those  from  tho  modicine-lodgc,  retire  to 
a  wigwam  close  by,  which  they  use  on  the  occasion  also  as 
a  sacred  place,  being  occupied  exclusively  by  them  while 
they  are  at  rest,  and  also  for  the  purpose  of  painting  and 
ornamenting  their  bodies  for  the  occasion. 

During  each  and  every  one  of  these  dances,  the  old  men 
who  beat  upon  the  sacks  and  sing,  are  earnestly  chanting 
forth  their  supplications  to  the  Groat  Spirit,  for  the  contin- 
uation of  his  inOuencc  in  sending  them  buflaloes  to  supply 
them  with  food  during  tho  year;  they  aro  administering 
courage  and  fortitude  to  the  young  men  in  tho  lodge,  by 
tolling  them,  that  "  the  Great  Spirit  has  opened  his  ears  in 
their  behalf — that  the  very  atmosphere  all  about  them  is 
peace — that  their  women  and  children  can  hold  the  mouth 
of  the  grizzly  bear — that  they  have  invoked  froni  day  to 
day  0-ke-hee-de  (the  Evil  Spirit) — that  they  are  still  chal- 
lenging him  to  come,  ard  yet  he  has  not  dared  to  make  his 
appearance ! " 

But  alas !  in  the  last  of  these  dances,  on  the  fourth  day, 
in  the  midst  of  all  their  mirth  and  joy,  and  about  noon,  and 


W^.J 


Us**!**"' 


'       ] 


fc« 


262 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


in  the  hciglit  of  all  these  exultations,  an  instani.  scream 
burst  forth  from  the  tops  of  the  lodges! — men,  woman 
dogs  and  all,  seemed  actually  to  howl  and  shudder  with 
alarm,  as  they  fixed  their  glaring  eye-balls  upon  the  prairie 
bluff,  about  a  mile  in  the  west,  down  the  side  of  which  a 
man  was  seen  descending  at  full  speed  towards  the  village! 
This  strange  character  darted  about  in  a  zig-zag  course  iu 
all  directions  on  the  prairie,  like  a  boy  in  pursuit  of  ^ 
butterfly,  until  he  approached  the  piquets  of  the  villa"-e 
when  it  was  discovered  that  his  body  was  entirely  naked 
and  painted  as  black  as  a  negro,  with  pounded  charcoal 
and  bear's  grease  ;  his  body  was  therefore  everywhere  of  a 
siiining  black,  except  occasionally  white  rings  of  an  inch  or 
more  in  diameter,  which  were  marked  here  and  there  all 
over  him;  and  frightful  indentures  of  white  around  his 
mouth,  resembling  canine  teeth.  Added  to  his  hideous 
appearance,  he  gave  the  most  frightful  shrieks  and  screams 
as  he  dashed  through  the  village  and  entered  the  terrified 
group,  which  was  composed  (in  that  (Quarter)  chiefly  of 
females,  who  had  "assembled  to  witness  the  amusements 
which  were  transpiring  around  the  "big  viunoe." 

This  unearthly  looking  creature  carried  in  his  two  hands 
a  wand  or  staff  of  eight  or  nine  feet  in  Ljngtii,  with  a  red 
ball  at  the  end  of  it,  whi'^h  he  continually  slid  on  the 
ground  a-head  of  him  as  he  ran.  All  eyes  in  the  village, 
save  those  of  the  persuns  engaged  in  the  dance,  were 
centred  upon  him,  and  he  made  a  desperate  rush  towards 
the  women,  who  screamed  for  protection  as  they  were 
endeavoring  to  retreat ;  and  falling  in  groups  upon  each 
other  as  tliey  were  struggling  to  get  out  of  his  reach.  In 
this  moment  of  general  terror  and  alarni  tliero  was  an 
in.stant  check  !  and  all  for  a  few  moments  were  as  silent  as 
death. 

The  old  master  of  ceremonies,  who  had  run  from  his 
position  at  the  big  canoe,  had  met  this  monster  of  fiends, 
and  having  thrust  the  medicinejtipc  before  him,  held  him 
still  and  immoveable  under  its  charm  i     This  check  gave 


— Jll 


^i;l 


li-J.A,:"- 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


263 


the  females  an  opportunity  to  get  out  of  his  reach,  and 
•when  they  were  free  from  their  danger,  though  all  hearts 
beat  yet  with  the  instant  excitement,  their  alarm  soon 
cooled  down  into  the  most  exorbitant  laughter,  and  shouts 
of  applause  at  his  sudden  defeat,  and  the  awkward  and 
ridiculous  posture  in  which  he  was  stopped  and  held.  The 
old  man  was  braced  stiff  by  his  side,  with  his  eye-balls 
glaring  him  in  the  face,  whilst  the  medicine-pipe  held  in  its 
mystic  chains  his  Satanic  Majesty,  annulling  all  the  powers 
of  his  magical  wand,  and  also  depriving  him  of  the  powers 
of  locomotion  1  Surely  no  two  human  beings  ever  pre- 
sented a  more  striking  group  than  these  two  individuals 
did  for  a  few  moments,  with  their  eye-balls  set  in  direst 
mutual  hatred  upon  each  other;  both  struggling  for  the 
supremacy,  relying  on  the  potency  of  their  medicine  or 
mystery.  The  one  held  in  check,  with  his  bodj'  painted 
black,  representing  (or  rather  assuming  to  bo)  his  sable 
majesty,  0-kce-hee-de  (the  Evil  Spirit),  frowning  vengeance 
on  the  other,  who  sternly  gazed  him  back  with  a  look  of 
exultation  and  contempt,  as  he  held  him  in  check  and 
disarmed  under  the  charm  of  his  sacred  mystery-pipe. 

When  the  superior  powers  of  the  medicine-pipe  (on 
which  hang  all  th.'se  annual  mysteries)  had  been  thiis 
fully  tested  and  acknowledged,  and  the  women  had  had 
requisite  time  to  withdraw  from  the  reach  of  this  fiendish 
monster,  the  pipe  was  very  gradually  withdrawn  from 
before  him,  and  ho  seemed  delighted  to  recover  the  use  of 
his  limbs  again,  and  power  of  changing  his  position  from 
the  exceedingly  unpleasant  and  really  ridiculous  one  ho 
appeared  in,  and  was  compelled  to  maintain,  a  few 
moments  before;  rendered  more  superlatively  ridiculous 
and  laughable,  from  the  further  information,  which  I  am 
constrained  to  give,  of  the  plight  in  which  this  demon  of 
terror  and  vulgarity  made  his  entree  into  the  midst  of  the 
Mandan  village,  and  to  the  centre  and  nucleus  of  their  first 
and  greatest  religious  ceremony. 

In  this  plight,    he  pursued    the    groups    of   females, 


1 

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HHI 

1,"* 

ilHlBH 

i 


i 


Mfl 


it.,i- 


iialsr 


■^*i.Ai 


261 


LETTEKS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


spreading  dismay  and  alarm  wbcrcvor  ho  went,  and  consc. 
qucntly  producing  the  awkward  and  exceedingly  laughable 
predicament  in  which  he  was  placed  by  the  sudden  check 
from  the  medicine-pipe,  as  I  have  above  stated,  when  all 
eyes  were  iptently  fixed  upon  him,  and  all  joined  in  rounds 
of  applause  for  the  success  of  the  magic  spell  that  was 
placed  upon  him;  all  voices  were  raised  in  shouts  of 
satisfaction  at  his  defeat,  and  all  eyes  gazed  ui)on  him  ;  of 
chiefs  and  of  warriors — matrons  and  even  of  their  tondcr- 
aged  and  timid  daughters,  whose  education  had  taught 
them  to  receive  the  moral  of  these  scenes  without  the  shock 
of  impropriety,  that  would  have  startled  a  more  fastidious 
and  consequently  sensual-thinking  people. 

After  this  he  paid  his  visits  to  throe  others  of  the  ei'dit 
in  succession,  receiving  as  before  the  deafening  shouts  of 
approbation  which  pealed  from  every  mouth  in  the  multi- 
tude, who  were  all  praying  to  the  Great  Spirit  to  send 
them  buftuloes  to  supply  them  with  food  during  the 
season,  and  who  attribute  the  coming  of  buffaloes  for  this 
purpose  entirely  to  the  strict  and  critical  observance  of 
this  ridiculous  and  disgusting  part  of  the  ceremonies. 

During  the  half  hoar  or  so  that  he  had  been  jostled 
about  amongst  man  and  beasts,  to  the  great  amusement 
and  .satisfaction  of  the  lookers-on,  ho  seemed  to  have 
become  exceedingly  exhausted,  and  anxiously  looking  out 
for  some  feasible  mode  of  escape. 

In  this  awkward  predicament  he  became  the  laughing- 
Btock  and  butt  for  the  women,  who  being  no  longer  afraid 
of  him,  were  gathering  in  groups  around,  to  tease  and 
tantalize  him;  and  in  the  midst  of  this  dilemma,  w1-ich 
soon  became  a  very  sad  one — one  of  the  women,  who  Aoh 
up  behind  him  with  both  hands  full  of  yellow  dirt — dashed 
it  into  his  face  and  eyes,  and  all  over  him,  and  his  body 
being  covered  with  grease,  took  instantly  a  different  hue. 
lie  .seemed  heart-broken  at  tliis  signal  disgrace,  and  com- 
menced crying  most  vehemently,  when  another  caught  his 
icaii'l  fium  his  hand,  and  broke  it  across  her  knee.    It  was 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


265 


gnatched  for  by  others,  who  broke  it  still  into  bits,  and 
then  threw  them  at  him.  His  power  was  now  gone — his 
boilily  strength  was  exhausted,  and  he  made  a  bolt  for  the 
prairie — he  dashed  through  the  crowd,  and  made  his  way 
through  the  piquets  on  the  back  part  of  the  village,  where 
were  placed  for  the  purpose,  an  hundred  or  more  women 
and  girls,  who  escorted  him  as  he  ran  on  the  prairie  for 
half  a  mile  or  more,  beating  him  with  sticks,  and  stones, 
and  dirt,  and  kicks,  and  cufifs,  until  he  was  at  length  seen 
escaping  from  their  clutches,  and  making  the  best  of  his 
retreat  over  the  prairie  bluffs,  from  whence  he  first 
appeared. 

At  the  moment  of  this  signal  victory,  and  when  all  eyes 
lost  sight  of  him  as  he  disappeared  over  the  blufife,  the 
whole  village  united  their  voices  in  shouts  of  satisfaction. 
The  bull-dance  then  stopped,  and  preparations  were 
instantly  made  for  the  commencement  of  the  cruelties 
which  were  to  take  place  within  the  lodge,  leaving  us  to 
draw,  from  what  had  just  transpired  the  following  beautiful 
moral : — 

That  in  the  midst  of  their  religious  ceremonies,  the  ~-^vil 
Spirit  (0-kce-hce-de)  made  his  entree  for  the  purpc  -.^  of 
doing  mischief,  and  of  disturbing  their  worship — thai  Vits 
was  held  in  check,  and  deieated  by  the  superior  iufluoic:^ 
and  virtue  of  the  medicine-pipe^  and  at  last,  driven  in 
disgrace  out  of  the  village,  by  the  very  part  of  tue  com- 
inunity  whom  he  came  to  abuse. 

At  the  close  of  this  exciting  scene,  preparations  were 
made,  as  above  stated,  by  the  return  of  the  master  of  cere- 
monies and  musicians  to  the  medieine-lodgc,  where  also 
were  admitted  at  the  same  time  a  number  of  men,  who 
were  to  be  instruments  of  the  cruelties  to  be  inflicted;  and 
also  the  chief  and  doctors  of  the  tribe,  who  were  to  look 
on,  and  boar  witness  to,  and  decide  upon,  the  coniparativo 
degree  of  fortitude,  with  which  the  young  men  sustain 
themselves  in  this  most  extreme  and  excruciating  ordeal. 
The  chiefs  having  seated  themselves  on  one  side  of  tho 


1    *  s^Ub    i 


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266 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  OS  THE 


lodge,  dressed  out  ia  tlieir  robes  and  splendid  head-dresses 
— the  band  of  music  seated  and  arranged  themselves  in 
another  part;  and  the  old  master  of  ceremonies  havinn' 
placed  himself  in  front  of  a  small  fire  in  the  centre  of  the 
lodge,  with  his  "  big  pipe"  in  his  hands,  and  commenced 
smoking  to  the  Great  Spirit,  with  all  possible  vehemence 
for  the  success  of  these  aspirants.  Around  the  sides  of  the 
lodge  are  seen,  still  reclining,  as  I  have  before  mentioned 
a  part  of  the  group,  whilst  others  of  them  have  pas.seil  the 
ordeal  of  self-tortures,  and  have  been  removed  out  of  the 
lodge ;  and  others  still  are  seen  in  the  very  act  of  submitting 
to  them,  which  were  inflicted  in  the  following  manner:— 
After  having  removed  the  sayictissimus  sanctorum,  or  little 
scaffohl,  of  which  I  before  spoke,  and  having  removed  also 
the  buffalo  and  human  skulls  from  the  floor,  and  attached 
them  to  the  posts  of  the  lodge;  and  two  men  having  taken 
their  positions  near  the  middle  of  the  lodge,  for  tlie  pur- 
pose of  inflicting  the  tortures — the  one  with  the  scalpin^- 
knife,  and  the  other  with  the  bunch  of  splints  (which  I 
have  before  mentioned)  in  his  hand ;  one  at  a  time  of 
the  young  fellows,  already  emaciated  with  fasting,  and 
thirsting,  and  waking,  for  nearly  four  days  and  nights, 
advanced  from  the  side  of  the  lodge,  and  placed  himself 
on  his  hands  and  feet,  or  otherwise,  as  best  suited  ibr  the 
performance  of  the  operation,  where  he  submitted  to  the 
cruelties  in  the  following  manner : — An  inch  or  more  of 
tlie  flesh  on  each  shoulder,  or  each  breast  was  taken  up 
between  llie  thumb  and  finger  by  the  man  who  held  the 
knife  in  liis  right  hand;  and  the  knife,  which  had  been 
ground  sharp  on  both  edges,  and  then  hacked  and  notched 
with  the  bla<le  of  another,  to  make  it  produce  as  much 
pain  as  possible,  was  forced  through  the  flesh  below  tho 
fingers,  and  being  withdrawn,  was  ftdlowed  with  a  splint 
or  skewer,  from  tho  other,  who  lield  a  bunch  of  such  in  hi,s 
left  hand,  and  was  ready  to  Ibrce  them  through  the  wouml. 
There  were  then  two  cords  lowered  down  from  the  top 
of  the  lodge  (by  men  who  were  placed  on  the  lodge  out 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


267 


side,  for  the  purpose),  wliich  were  fastened  to  these  splints 
or  skewers,  and  they  instantly  began  to  haul  him  up ;  he 
was  thus  raised  until  hi.-  body  was  suspended  from  the 
ground  where  he  rested,  i  itil  the  knife  and  a  splint  were 
passed  through  the  flesh  or  integuments,  in  a  similar 
manner  on  each  arm  below  he  shoulder  (over  the  bracJiialis 
extemus),  below  the  elbow  ( iver  the  extensor  carpi  radialis), 
on  the  thighs  (over  the  t'  sius  extemus),  and  below  the 
knees  (over  the  peronuus). 

In  some  instances  they  remained  in  a  reclining  position 
on  the  ground  until  this  painful  operation  was  finished, 
which  was  performed,  in  all  instances,  exactly  on  the  same 
parts  of  the  body  and  limbs ;  and  which,  in  its  progress, 
occupied  some  five  or  six  minutes. 

Each  one  was  then  instantly  raised  with  the  cords,  until 
the  weight  of  his  body  was  suspended  by  them,  and  then, 
while  the  blood  was  streaming  down  their  limbs,  the  by- 
standers hung  upon  the  splints  each  man's  appropriate 
shield,  bow  and  quiver,  &c. ;  and  in  many  instances,  the 
skull  of  a  buffalo  with  the  horns  on  it,  was  attached  to  each 
lower  arm  and  each  lower  leg,  for  the  purpose,  probably, 
of  preventing  by  their  great  v/eight,  the  struggling,  which 
might  otherwise  have  taken  place  to  their  disadvantage 
whilst  they  were  hung  up. 

When  thes.'  things  were  all  adjusted,  each  one  waa 
raised  higher  by  the  cords,  until  these  weights  all  swung 
clear  from  the  ground,  leaving  his  feet,  in  most  cases,  some 
six  or  eight  feet  above  the  ground.  In  this  plight  they 
at  once  became  appalling  and  frightful  to  look  at — the 
ilesh,  to  support  the  weight  of  their  bodies,  with  the 
additional  weights  which  were  attached  to  them,  waa 
raised  six  or  eight  inches  by  the  skewers  ;  and  their  headg 
sunk  forward  on  the  breasts,  or  thrown  backwards,  in  a 
r.^'ich  more  frightful  condition,  according  to  the  way  in 
which  they  were  hung  uo. 

The  unllinching  fortitude,  with  which  every  one  of  them 
bore  this  part  of  the  torture  surpassed  credulity;  each  one 


mm 


268 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


as  the  knife  was  passed  througli  bis  flesh  sustained  un  un- 
changeable countenance;  and  several  of  them,  seeing  mo 
making  sketches,  beckoned  me  to  look  at  their  faces 
which  I  watched  through  all  this  horrid  operation,  with- 
out being  able  to  detect  anything  but  the  pleasantest 
smiles  as  they  looked  me  in  the  eye,  while  I  could  hear  the 
knife  rip  through  the  flesh,  and  feel  enough  of  it  myself 
to  start  involuntary  and  uncontrollable  tears  over  my 
cheeks. 

When  raised  to  the  coiidition  above  described,  and  com- 
pletely suspended  by  the  cords,  the  sanguinary  hands 
through  which  he  had  just  passed,  turned  back  to  perform 
a  similar  operation  on  another,  who  was  ready,  and  each 
one  in  his  turn  passed  into  the  charge  of  others,  who  in- 
stantly  introduced  him  to  a  new  and  improved  stage  of 
their  refinements  in  cruelty. 

Surrounded  by  imps  and  demous,  as  they  appear,  a 
dozen  or  more,  who  seem  to  be  concerting  and  devisino' 
means  for  his  exquisite  agony,  gather  around  him,  whea 
one  of  the  number  advances  towards  him  in  a  sneering 
manner,  and  commences  turning  him  around  with  a  pule 
which  he  brings  in  his  hand  for  the  purpose.  This  is 
done  in  a  gentle  manner  at  first ;  but  gradually  increases 
when  the  brave  fellow,  whose  proud  spirit  can  control  its 
agony  no  longer,  burst  out  in  the  most  lamentable  and 
heart-rending  cries  that  the  human  voice  is  capable  of  pro- 
ducing, crying  forth  a  prayer  to  the  Great  Spirit  to  suj)i)ort 
and  protect  him  in  this  dreadful  trial ;  and  continuaUy 
repeating  his  confidenci"!  in  his  protection.  In  this  con- 
dition he  is  corunued  (->  be  turned,  faster  and  faster — and 
there  is  no  hu;  j  ot  escape  from  it,  nor  chance  for  the 
slightest  relief  ;.  itil  by  fainting,  [As  voice  falters,  and  his 
struggling  cea.M:s,  and  he  hangs,  apparently,  a  still  and 
lifeless  corpse!  When  he  is,  by  turning,  gradually  brought 
to  this  condition,  which  is  generally  done  within  ten  or 
fifleen  minutes,  there  is  a  close  scrutiny  passed  upi  n  hitn 
among  his  tormentors,  who  are  checking  and  holding  each 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INPIANS. 


269 


other  back  as  long  as  the  least  struggling  or  tremor  can 
be  discovered,  lest  he  should  be  removed,  before  be  is  (aa 
they  term  it)  "  entirely  dead. " 

When  brought  to  this  alarming  and  most  frightful  con- 
dition, and  the  turning  has  gradually  ceased,  as  his  voice 
and  his  strength  have  fiiven  out,  leaving  him  to  hang 
entirely  still,  and  apparently  lifeless ;  when  his  tongue  is 
distended  from  his  mouth,  and  his  medicine-bag,  which  he 
has  affectionately  and  siiperstitiously  clung  to  with  his  left 
hand,  has  dropped  to  the  ground ;  the  signal  is  given  to 
the  men  on  top  of  the  lodge,  by  gently  striking  the  cord 
with  the  pole  below,  when  they  very  gradually  and  care- 
fully lower  him  to  the  ground. 

In  this  helpless  condition  he  lies,  like  a  loathsome  corpse 
to  look  at,  though  in  the  keeping  (as  they  call  it)  of  the 
Great  Spirit,  whom  he  trusts  will  protect  him,  and  enable 
him  to  get  up  and  walk  away.  As  soon  as  he  is  lowered 
to  the  ground  thus,  one  of  the  bystanders  advances,  and 
pulls  out  the  two  splints  or  pins  from  the  breasts  and 
shoulders,  thereby  disengaging  him  from  the  cords  by 
which  he  has  been  hung  up ;  but  leaving  all  the  others 
with  their  weights,  &c.,  hanging  to  his  flesh. 

In  this  condition  he  lies  for  six  or  eight  minutes,  until 
he  gets  strength  to  rise  and  move  himself,  for  no  one  is 
allowed  to  assist  or  offer  him  aid,  as  he  is  here  enjoying  the 
most  valued  privilege  which  a  Mandixn  can  boast  of,  that 
of  "trusting  his  liie  to  the  keeping  of  the  Great  Spirit,"  in 
this  time  of  extreme  peril. 

As  soon  as  he  is  seen  to  get  strength  enough  to  rise  on 
liis  hands  and  feet,  and  drag  his  body  around  the  lodge,  ho 
crawls  with  the  weights  still  hanging  to  his  body,  to 
another  part  of  the  lodge,  where  there  is  another  Indian 
Hitting  with  a  hatchet  in  his  hand,  and  a  dried  buffalo  skull 
bL'fore  hiiu ;  and  lierc,  in  the  most  earnest  and  humble 
manner,  by  holding  up  the  little  finger  of  his  left  hand  to 
the  Great  Spirit,  he  expresses  to  Him,  in  a  speech  of  a  few 
words,  his  willingness  to  give  it  as  a  sacrifice;  when  he 


I        tf-W'A     , 


>\ 


If"  ^>i 


Mfw 


270 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


lays  it  on  the  dried  buffalo  skull,  when  the  other  chops 
it  off  near  the  hand,  with  a  blow  of  the  hatchet ! 

Nearly  all  of  the  young  men  whom  I  saw  passing  this 
horrid  ordciil,  gave,  in  the  above  manner,  the  little  finfor 
of  the  loft  hand  ;  and  I  saw  also  several,  who  immediately 
alterwards  (and  apparently  with  very  little  concern  or 
emotion),  with  a  similar  speech,  extended  in  the  same  way 
the  /ore-finger  of  the  same  hand,  and  that  too  was  struck 
off;  leaving  on  the  hand  only  the  two  middle  fingers  and 
the  thumb  ;  all  which  they  deem  absolutely  essential  for 
holding  tlie  bow,  the  only  weapon  for  the  left  hand. 

One  would  think  that  this  mutilation  had  thus  been 
carried  quite  far  enough ;  but  I  have  since  examined 
several  of  the  head  chiefs  and  dignitaries  of  the  tribe,  who 
have  also  given,  in  this  manner,  the  little  finger  of  the 
right  hand,  which  is  considered  by  them  to  be  a  much 
greater  sacrifice  than  both  of  the  others ;  and  I  have  found 
also  a  number  of  their  most  famous  men,  who  furnish  mo 
incontestable  proof,  by  five  or  six  corresponding  scars  ou 
each  arm,  and  each  breast,  and  each  log,  that  they  had  so 
many  times  in  their  lives  submitted  to  this  almost  in* 
credible  operation,  Avhich  seems  to  be  optional  with  them- 
and  the  oflcner  they  volunteer  to  go  through  it,  the  more 
llvmous  they  become  in  the  estimation  of  their  tribe. 

No  bandages  are  applied  to  the  fingers  which  have  been 
amputated,  nor  any  arteries  taken  up  ;  nor  is  any  attention 
whatever,  paid  to  them  or  the  other  wounds ;  but  they  aro 
left  (as  tliey  say)  "  for  the  Great  Spirit  to  cure,  who  will 
surely  take  good  care  of  them."  It  is  a  reinaikable  fact 
(which  I  learned  from  a  close  inspection  of  thjir  wounds 
from  day  to  day)  that  the  bleeding  is  but  very  slight  and 
soon  ceases,  probably  from  the  fact  of  their  extreme 
exhaustion  and  debility,  cau.scd  by  want  of  sustenance  and 
sleep,  which  checks  the  natural  circulation,  and  admirably 
at  the  same  time  prepares  them  to  meet  the  severitv  of 
these  tortures  without  the  same  degree  of  .sensibility  and 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


271 


pain,  which,  under  other  circumstances,  might  resnlt  in 
inflammation  and  death. 

During  the  whole  of  the  time  of  this  cruel  part  of  these 
niost  extraordinary  inflictions,  the  chiefs  and  dignitaries  ot 
tlie  tribe  are  looking  on,  to  decide  who  are  the  hardiest  and 
"  stoutest  hearted" — who  can  hang  the  longest  by  his  flesh 
before  ho  faints,  and  who  will  be  soonest  up,  after  he  has 
been  down ;  that  they  may  know  whom  to  appoint  to  lead 
a  war  party,  or  place  at  the  most  honorable  and  desperate 
post.  The  four  old  men  are  incessantly  beating  upon  the 
sacks  of  water  and  singing  the  whole  time,  with  their 
voices  strained  to  the  highest  key,  vaunting  forth,  for  the 
encouragement  of  the  young  men,  the  power  and  efficacy 
of  the  medicine-pipe^  which  has  disarmed  the  monster  0-kee- 
liee-de  (or  Evil  Spirit),  and  driven  him  from  the  village, 
and  will  be  sure  to  protect  them  and  watch  over  them 
through  their  present  severe  trial. 

As  soon  as  six  or  eight  had  passed  the  ordeal  as  above 
described,  they  were  led  out  of  the  lodge,  with  their 
weights  hanging  to  their  flesh,  and  dragging  on  the 
ground,  to  undergo  another^  and  a  still  more  appalling 
mode  of  suffering  in  the  centre  of  the  village,  and  in  pre- 
sence of  the  whole  nation,  in  the  manner  as  follows : — 

The  signal  for  the  commencement  of  this  part  of  the 
cruelties  was  given  by  the  old  master  of  ceremonies,  who 
again  ran  out  as  in  the  buffalo-dance,  and  leaning  against 
the  big  canoe,  with  his  medicine-pipe ,  iu  his  hand  began  to 
cry.  This  was  done  several  times  in  the  afternoon,  as  often 
as  tliere  were  six  or  eight  who  had  passed  the  ordeal  just 
described  within  the  lodge,  who  were  then  taken  out  in  the 
open  area,  in  the  presence  of  the  whole  village,  with  the 
buffalo  skulls  and  other  weignts  attached  to  their  flesh, 
and  dragging  on  the  ground  I  There  were  then  in  readiness, 
and  prepared  for  the  purpose,  about  twenty  young  men, 
selected  of  equal  height  and  equal  age;  with  their  bodies 
clueHy  naked,  with  beautiful  (and  similar)  head-dresses  oi 
war-eagles'  quills,  on  their  heads,  and  a  wreath  made  of 


I 


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U.  i 


272 


LETTKR3  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


willow  boughs  held  in  the  hands  between  them,  co-  voting 
them  in  a  chain  or  circle  in  which  they  run  around  tho  big 
canoe,  with  all  possible  speed,  raising  their  voices  in  Horeams 
and  yeli^s  to  the  highest  pitch  that  was  possible,  and  k  cp- 
ing  the  curb  or  big  canoe  in  the  centre,  as  their  nucleus. 

Then  were  led  forward  the  young  men  who  wcr  further 
to  suffer,  and  being  placed  at  equal  distances  apart,  and 
outside  of  the  ring  just  describ(3d,  each  one  was  taken  in 
cl  arge  of  two  athletic  young  men,  fresh  and  strong,  who 
slopped  up  to  him,  one  on  cacli  side,  and  by  wrapping  a 
broad  li  ither  strap  around  his  wrists,  without  tying  it 
grasped  it  firm  underneath  the  hand,  and  stood  prepared 
for  what  they  call  Fh-ke-nah-ha-nnh-pick  (the  last  race). 
This  the  spectator  looking  on  would  suppose  was  most 
c  Trectly  named,  for  he  would  think  it  was  the  last  race 
they  coul  i  possibly  run  in  this  world. 

In  this  condition  they  stand,  pale  and  ghastly,  from  nb- 
stincii  •c  and  loss  of  blood,  untd  all  are  prepared,  and  the 
word  is  given,  when  all  start  and  run  around,  outside  of  the 
other  rinf; ;  and  ea  !i  poor  fellow,  with  his  weights  dragging 
on  the  ground;  and  his  furious  conductor  by  his  side  who 
hurry  hiin  forward  by  the  wrists,  struggles  in  the  desperate 
emulation  to  run  longer  without  "dying"  (as  they  call  it) 
than  his  comrades,  who  arc  fainting  around  hi  in  and  sinlciiig 
down,  like  himself,  where  their  bodies  arc  dragged  with  all 
possible  speed,  and  often  with  their  faces  in  the  dirt.  In 
the  commencement  of  this  dance  or  race  they  all  start  at  a 
moderate  pace,  and  their  speed  being  gradually  increased, 
the  pain  becomes  so  oxcru'  iating  that  their  languid  and 
exhausted  frames  give  out,  and  they  are  dragged  by  their 
wri.>ts  until  they  are  disengaged  from  the  weights  that  were 
attached  to  their  flesh,  and  this  must  bo  done  by  such  violent 
force  as  to  tear  the  flesh  out  with  the  splint,  which  (as  they 
say)  can  never  be  pulled  out  endwise,  without  oflending  the 
Great  Spirit  and  defeating  the  object  for  which  they  have 
thus  far  sufTcred.  The  splints  or  skewers  which  are  put 
through  the  breast  and  the  shoulders,  take  up  a  part  of  tho 


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NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


273 


pectoral  or  trapezius  muscle,  which  is  necessary  for  the 
support  of  the  great  weight  of  their  bodies,  and  which,  as 
I  have  before  mentioned,  are  withdrawn  as  ho  is  lowered 
down — but  all  the  others,  on  the  legs  and  arms,  seem  to  bo 
very  ingeniously,  passed  throufr'.  the  flesh  and  integuments 
witliout  taking  up  the  muscle,  and  even  these  to  be  broken 
out  require  so  violent  a  force  that  most  of  the  po>  r,  'Hows 
fainted  under  the  operation,  and  when  they  were  ireed  from 
the  last  of  the  buffalo  skulls  and  other  weights,  (Moh  was 
often  done  by  some  of  the  bystanders  throwing  nght 

of  their  bodies  on  to  them  as  they  were  dragging  on  the 
ground)  they  were  in  every  instance  dropped  by  the  persons 
who  dragged  them,  and  their  bodies  were  left  appearing 
like  nothing  but  a  mangled  and  a  loathsome  corpse !  At 
this  strange  and  frightful  juncture,  the  two  men  who  had 
dragged  them,  fled  through  the  crowd  and  away  upon  the 
prairie,  as  if  they  were  guilty  of  some  enormous  crime,  and 
were  fleeing  from  summary  vengeance. 

Each  poor  fellow,  having  thus  patiently  and  manfully 
endured  the  privations  and  tortures  devised  for  him,  and 
(in  this  last  struggle  with  the  most  appalling  effort)  torn 
himself  loose  from  them  and  his  tormentors,  he  lies  the 
second  time,  in  the  "  keeping  (as  he  terms  it)  of  the  Great 
Spirit,"  to  whom  he  issues  his  repeated  prayers,  and  entrusts 
his  life:  and  in  whom  he  reposes  the  most  implicit  confi- 
dence for  his  preservation  and  recovery.  As  an  evidence 
of  this,  and  of  the  high  value  which  these  youths  set  upon 
this  privilege,  there  is  no  person,  not  a  relation  or  a  chief 
of  the  tribe,  who  is  allowed,  or  who  would  dare,  to  step  for- 
ward to  offer  an  aiding  hand,  even  to  save  his  life ;  for  not 
only  the  rigid  customs  of  the  nation,  and  the  pride  of  the 
individual  who  has  entrusted  his  life  to  the  keeping  of  the 
Great  Spirit,  would  sternly  reject  such  a  tender ;  but  their 
superstition,  which  is  the  strongest  of  all  arguments  in  an 
Indian  community,  would  alone,  hold  all  the  tribe  in  fear 
and  dread  of  interfering,  when  they  consider  they  have  so 
good  a  reason  to  believe  that  the  Great  Spirit  has  under- 

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274 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


taken  the  special  care  and  protection  of  his  devoted  wor- 
shippers. 

In  thib  "last  race,"  which  was  the  struggle  that  finally 
closed  their  sufferings,  each  one  was  dragged  until  he 
fainted,  and  was  thus  left,  looking  more  like  the  dead  than 
the  living :  and  thus  each  one  laid,  until,  by  the  aid  of  the 
Great  Spirit,  he  was  in  a  few  minutes  seen  gradually  rising, 
and  at  last  reeling  and  staggeriag,  like  a  drunken  man 
through  the  crowd  (which  made  way  for  him)  to  his  wig- 
wam, where  his  friends  and  relatives  stood  ready  to  take 
him  into  hand  and  restore  him. 

In  this  frightful  scene,  as  in  the  buffalo-dance,  the  whole 
nation  was  assembled  as  spectators,  and  all  raised  the  most 
piercing  and  violent  yells  and  screams  they  could  possibly 
produce,  to  drown  the  cries  of  the  suffering  ones,  that  no 
heart  could  even  be  touched  with  sympathy  for  them.  I 
have  mentioned  before,  that  six  or  eight  of  the  young  men 
were  brought  from  the  medicine-lodge  at  a  time,  and  when 
they  were  thus  passed  through  this  shocking  ordeal,  the 
medicine-men  and  the  chiefs  returned  to  the  interior, 
where  as  many  more  were  soon  prepared,  and  underwent 
a  similar  treatment;  and  after  that  another  batch,  and 
another,  and  so  on,  until  the  whole  number,  some  forty- 
five  or  fifty  had  run  in  this  sickening  circle,  and,  by 
leaving  their  weights,  had  opened  the  flesh  for  honorable 
scars,  I  said  all,  but  there  was  one  poor  fellow  though 
(and  I  shudder  to  tell  it,)  who  was  dragged  around  and 
around  the  circle,  with  the  skull  of  an  elk  hanging  to  the 
flesh  on  one  of  his  legs, — several  had  jumped  upon  it,  but 
to  no  eflect,  for  the  splint  was  under  the  sinew,  which 
could  not  be  broken.  The  dragging  became  every  instant 
more  and  more  furious,  and  the  apprehensions  for  the  poor 
fellow's  life,  apparent  by  the  piteous  howl  which  was  set 
up  for  him  by  the  multitude  around;  and  at  last  tlie 
medicine-man  ran,  with  his  medicine-pipe  in  his  hand,  and 
held  them  in  check,  when  the  body  was  dropped,  and  left 
upon  the  ground,  with  the  skull  yet  hanging  to  it.    The 


NOIWH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


m 


devoted  wor- 


ler  batcli,  and 


boy  who  was  an  extremely  interesting  ana  fine-looking 
youth,  soon  recovered  his  senses  and  his  strength,  looking 
deliberately  at  his  torn  and  bleeding  limbs ;  and  also  with 
the  most  pleasant  smile  of  defiance,  upon  the  misfortune 
which  had  now  fallen  to  his  peculiar  lot,  crawled  through 
the  crowd  (instead  of  walking,  which  they  are  never  again 
at  liberty  to  do  until  the  flesh  is  torn  out,  and  the  article 
left)  to  the  prairie,  and  over  which,  for  the  distance  of  half 
a  mile,  to  a  sequestered  spot,  without  any  attendant,  where 
he  laid  three  days  and  three  nights,  yet  longer,  without 
food,  and  praying  to  the  Great  Spirit,  until  suppuration 
took  place  in  the  wound,  and  by  the  decaying  of  the  flesh 
the  weight  was  dropped  and  the  splint  also,  which  he  dare 
not  extricate  in  another  way.  At  the  end  of  this,  he 
crawled  back  to  the  village  on  his  hands  and  knees,  being 
too  much  emaciated  to  walk,  and  begged  for  something  to 
eat,  which  was  at  once  given  him,  and  he  was  soon 
restored  to  health. 

These  extreme  and  difficult  cases  often  occur,  and  I  learn 
that  in  such  instances  the  youth  has  it  at  his  option  to  get 
rid  of  the  weight  that  is  thus  left  upon  him,  in  such  way  as 
he  may  choose,  and  some  of  those  modes  are  far  more  extra- 
ordinary than  the  one  which  I  have  just  named.  Several 
of  the  Traders,  who  have  been  for  a  number  of  years  in  the 
habit  of  seeing  this  part  of  the  ceremony,  have  told  me 
that  two  years  since,  when  they  were  looking  on,  there 
was  one  whose  flesh  on  the  arms  was  so  strong  that  the 
weights  could  not  be  left,  and  he  dragged  them  with  his 
body  to  the  river  by  the  side  of  the  village,  where  he  set  a 
stake  fast  in  the  ground  on  the  top  of  the  bank,  and 
fastening  cords  to  it,  he  let  himself  half-way  down  a 
perpendicular  wall  of  rock,  of  twenty-five  or  thirty  feet, 
where  the  weight  of  his  body  was  suspended  by  the  two 
cords  attached  to  the  flesh  of  his  arms.  In  this  awful 
condition  he  hung  for  several  days,  equi-distant  from  the 
top  of  the  rock  and  the  deep  water  below,  into  which  he  at 
last  dropped  and  saved  himself  by  swimming  ashore  I 


276 


LBTTBBS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


I  need  record  no  more  of  these  shocking  and  disgusting 
instances,  of  which  I  have  already  given  enough  to  con. 
vinoe  the  world  of  the  correctness  of  the  established  fact  of 
the  Indian's  superior  stoicism  and  power  of  endurance 
although  some  recent  writers  have,  from  motives  of  envy 
from  ignorance,  or  something  else,  taken  great  pains  to 
cut  the  poor  Indian  short  in  everything,  and  in  this,  even 
as  if  it  were  a  virtue. 

I  am  ready  to  accord  to  them  in  this  particular,  the 
palm ;  the  credit  of  outdoing  anything  and  everybody,  and 
of  enduring  more  than  civilized  man  ever  aspired  to  or 
ever  thought  of.  My  heart  has  sickened  also  with  disgust 
for  so  abominable  and  ignorant  a  custom,  and  still  I  stand 
ready  with  all  my  heart,  to  excuse  and  forgive  them  for 
adhering  so  strictly  to  an  ancient  celebration,  founded  in 
superstitions  and  mysteries,  of  which  they  know  not  the 
origin,  and  constituting  a  material  part  and  feature  in  the 
code  and  forms  of  their  religion. 

Reader,  I  will  return  with  you  a  moment  to  the 
medicine-lodge,  which  is  just  to  be  closed,  and  then  we 
will  indulge  in  some  general  reflections  upon  what  has 
passed,  and  in  what,  and  for  what  purposes  this  strange 
batch  of  mysteries  has  been  instituted  and  perpetuated. 

After  these  young  men,  who  had  for  the  last  four  days 
occupied  the  medicine-lodge,  had  been  operated  on,  in  the 
manner  above  described,  and  taken  out  of  it,  the  old 
medicine-man,  master  of  ceremonies,  returned,  (still  crying 
to  the  Great  Spirit)  sole  tenant  of  that  sacred  place,  and 
brought  out  the  "edged  tools,"  which  I  before  said  had 
been  collected  at  the  door  of  every  man's  wigwam,  to  be 
given  as  a  sacrifice  to  the  water,  and  leaving  the  lodge  | 
securely  fastened,  he  approached  the  bank  of  the  river,  i 
when  all  the  medicine-men  -attended  him,  and  all  the 
nation  were  spectators;  an  their  presence  he  threw 

them  from  a  high  bank  into  very  deep  water,  from  which! 
they  cannot  be  recovered,  and  where  they  are,  correctlyl 
speaking,  made  a  sacrifice  to  the  water.    This  part  of  thel 


)N  THE 

jcking  and  disgusting 
riven  enougli  to  con^ 
the  established  fact  of 

power  of  endurance, 
from  motives  of  envy, 

taken  great  pains  to 
iiing,  and  in  this,  even 

in  this  particular,  the 
ng  and  everybody,  and 
nan  ever  aspired  to  or 
kened  also  with  disgust 
ustom,  and  still  I  stand 
J  and  forgive  them  for 
celebration,  founded  in 
bich  they  know  not  the 
[  part  and  feature  in  the 

ou   a   moment   to  the 
be  closed,  and  then  we 
lections  upon  what  has 
at  purposes  this  strange 
ited  and  perpetuated, 
id  for  the  last  four  days 
jeen  operated  on,  in  the 
aken  out  of  it,  the  old 
es,  returned,  (still  crying 
f  that  sacred  place,  and 
which  I  before  said  had 
rery  man's  wigwam,  to  he 
r,  and  leaving  the  lodge 
I 'the  bank  of  the  river, 
ended  him,   and  all  the 
their  presence  he  threvr 
J  deep  water,  from  which 
where  they  are,  correctly 
water.    This  part  of  the 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


277 


affair  took  place  just  exactly  at  sun -down,  and  closed  the 
scene,  being  the  end  or  finale  of  the  Mandan  religious 
ceremony. 

The  strange  country  that  I  am  in — its  excitements — its 
accidents  and  wild  incidents  which  startle  me  at  almost 
every  moment,  prevent  me  from  any  very  elaborate  disqui- 
sition upon  the  above  remarkable  events  at  present;  and 
even  had  I  all  the  time  and  leisure  of  a  country  gentleman, 
and  all  the  additional  information  which  I  am  daily  pro- 
curing, and  daily  expect  to  procure  hereafter  in  explanation 
of  these  unaccountable  mysteries,  yet  do  I  fear  that  thers 
would  be  that  inexplicable  difficulty  that  hangs  over  most 
of  the  customs  and  traditions  of  these  simple  people,  who 
have  no  history  to  save  facts  and  systems  from  falling  inta 
the  most  absurd  and  disjointed  fable  and  ignorant  fiction. 

What  few  plausible  inferences  I  have  as  yet  been  able  to 
draw  from  the  above  strange  and  peculiar  transactions  I 
will  set  forth,  but  with  some  diffidence,  hoping  and  trusting 
that  by  further  intimacy  and  familiarity  with  these  people 
I  may  yet  arrive  at  more  satisfactory  and  important  results. 

That  these  people  should  have  a  tradition  of  the  Flood  is 
by  no  means  surprising;  as  I  have  learned  from  every 
tribe  I  have  visited,  that  they  all  have  some  high  mountain 
in  their  vicinity,  where  they  insist  upon  it  the  big  canoe 
landed ;  but  as  these  people  should  hold  an  annual  celebra- 
tion of  the  event,  and  the  season  of  that  decided  by  such 
circumstances  as  the  full  leaf  of  the  willow,  and  the 
medicine-lodge  opened  by  such  a  man  as  Nu-mohk-muck-a- 
nah  (who  appears  to  be  a  white  man),  and  making  his 
appearance  "from  the  high  mountains  in  the  West;"  and 
some  other  circumstances,  is  surely  a  very  remarkable 
thing,  and  requires  some  extraordinary  attention. 

This  Nu-mohk-muck-a-nah  (first  or  only  man)  is  un- 
doubtedly some  mystery  or  medicine-man  of  the  tribe,  who 
has  gone  out  on  the  prairie  on  the  evening  previous,  and 
having  dressed  and  painted  himself  for  the  occasion,  comes 
into  the  village  in  the  morning,  endeavoring  to  keep  up 


278 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


the  semblance  of  reality ;  for  their  tradition  says,  that  at  a 
very  ancient  period  such  a  man  did  actually  come  from  the 
"West — that  his  body  was  of  the  white  color,  as  this  man's 
body  is  represented — that  he  wore  a  robe  of  four  white 
wolf  skins — his  head-dress  was  made  of  two  raven's  skins 
— and  in  his  left  hand  was  a  huge  pipe.  He  said,  "  he  was 
at  one  time  the  only  man — he  told  them  of  the  destruction 
of  every  thing  on  the  earth's  surface  by  water — that  he 
stopped  in  his  big  canoe  on  a  high  mountain  in  the  West 
where  he  landed  and  was  saved. 

*'  That  the  Mandans,  and  all  other  people  were  bound  to 
make  yearly  sacrifices  of  some  edged-tools  to  the  water,  for 
of  such  things  the  big  canoe  was  made.  That  he  instructed 
the  Mandans  how  to  build  their  medicine-lodge,  aad 
taught  them  also  the  forms  of  these  annual  ceremonies* 
and  told  them  that  as  long  as  they  made  these  sacrifices 
and  performed  their  rites  to  the  full  letter,  they  might  be 
assured  of  the  fact,  that  they  would  be  the  favorite  people 
of  the  Almighty,  and  would  always  have  enough  to  eat  and 
drink  ;  and  that  so  soon  as  they  should  depart  in  one  tittle 
from  these  forms,  they  might  be  assured,  that  their  race 
would  decrease,  and  finally  run  out ;  and  that  they  miwht 
date  their  nation's  calamity  to  that  omission  or  neglect." 

These  people  have,  no  doubt,  been  long  living  under  the 
dread  of  such  an  injunction,  and  in  the  fear  of  departing 
from  it ;  and  while  they  are  living  in  total  ignorance  of  its 
origin,  the  world  must  remain  equally  ignorant  of  much  of 
its  meaning,  as  they  needs  must  be  of  all  Indian  customs 
resting  on  ancient  traditions,  which  soon  run  into  fables 
having  lost  all  their  system,  by  which  they  might  have 
been  construed. 

This  strange  and  unaccountable  custom,  is  undoubtedly 
peculiar  to  the  Mandans ;  although,  amongst  the  Minata. 
rees,  and  some  others  of  the  neighboring  tribes,  they  have 
seasons  of  abstinence  and  self-torture,  somewhat  similar, 
but  bearing  no  other  resemblance  to  this  than  a  mere  feeble 
eflbrt  or  form  of  imitation. 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


279 


It  would  seem  from  their  tradition  of  the  willow  branch, 
and  the  dove,  that  these  people  must  have  had  some 
proximity  to  some  part  of  the  civilized  world ;  or  that 
missionaries  or  others  have  been  formerly  among  them, 
inculcating  the  Christian  religion  and  the  Mosaic  account 
of  the  Flood ;  which  is,  in  this  and  some  other  respects, 
decidely  different  from  the  theory  which  most  natural 
people  have  distinctly  established  of  that  event. 

There  are  other  strong,  and  almost  decisive  proofs  in  my 
opinion,  in  support  of  the  assertion,  which  are  to  be  drawn 
from  the  diversity  of  color  in  their  hair  and  complexions,  as 
I  have  before  described,  as  well  as  from  their  tradition  just 
related,  of  the  ^^  first  or  only  man^^  whose  body  was  white, 
and  who  came  from  the  "West,  telling  them  of  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  earth  by  water,  and  instructing  them  in  the 
forms  of  these  mysteries ;  and,  in  addition  to  the  above,  I 
will  add  the  two  following  very  curious  stories,  which  I  had 
from  several  of  their  old  and  dignified  chiefs,  and  which 
are  no  doubt  standing  and  credited  traditions  of  the  tribe. 

"  The  Mandans  (people  of  the  pheasants)  were  the  first 
people  created  in  the  world,  and  they  originally  lived 
inside  of  the  earth ;  they  raised  many  vines,  and  one  of 
them  had  grown  up  through  a  hole  in  the  earth  over  head, 
and  one  of  their  young  men  climbed  up  it  until  he  came 
out  on  the  top  of  the  ground,  on  the  bank  of  the  river, 
where  the  Mandan  village  stands.  He  looked  around,  and 
admired  the  beautiful  country  and  prairies  about  him — 
saw  many  buffaloes — killed  one  with  his  bow  and  arrows, 
and  found  that  its  meat  was  good  to  eat.  He  returned,  and 
related  what  he  had  seen  ;  when  a  number  of  others  went 
up  the  vine  with  him,  and  witnessed  the  same  things. 
Amongst  those  who  went  up,  were  two  very  pretty  young 
women,  who  were  favorites  of  the  chiefs,  because  they  were 
virgins ;  and  amongst  those  who  were  trying  to  get  up,  was 
a  very  large  and  fat  woman,  who  was  ordered  by  the  chiefs 
not  to  go  up,  but  whose  curiosity  led  her  to  try  it  as  soon 
as  she  got  a  secret  opportunity,  when  there  was  no  one 


J 


280 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


present.  When  she  got  part  of  the  way  up,  the  vine  broke 
under  the  great  weight  of  her  body,  and  let  her  down. 
She  was  very  much  hurt  by  the  fall,  but  did  not  die. 
The  Mandans  were  very  sorry  about  this;  and  she  was 
disgraced  for  being  the  cause  of  a  very  great  calamity 
which  she  had  brought  upon  them,  and  which  could  never 
be  averted ;  for  no  more  could  ever  a.scend,  nor  could  those 
descend  who  had  got  up;  but  they  built  the  Mandaa 
village,  where  it  formerly  stood,  a  great  ways  below  on  the 
river ;  and  the  remainder  of  the  people  live  under  ground 
to  this  day." 

The  above  tradition  is  told  with  great  gravity  by  their 
chiefs  and  doctors  or  mystery-men ;  and  the  latter  profess 
to  hear  their  friends  talk  through  the  earth  at  certain  times 
and  places,  and  even  consult  them  for  their  opinions  and 
advice  on  many  important  occasions. 

The  next  tradition  runs  thus : — 

•'At  a  very  ancient  period,  0-kee-hee-de  (the  Evil  Spirit 
the  black  fellow  mentioned  in  the  religious  ceremonies) 
came  to  the  Mandan  village  with  Nu-mohk-muck-a-nah 
(the  first  or  only  man)  from  the  West,  and  sat  down  by  a 
woman  who  had  but  one  eye,  and  was  hoeing  com.  Her 
daughter,  who  was  very  pretty  came  up  to  her,  and  the 
Evil  Spirit  desired  her  to  go  and  bring  some  water;  but 
wished  that  before  she  started,  she  would  come  to  him  and 
eat  some  buffalo  meat.  Ho  told  her  to  take  a  piece  out  of 
bis  side,  which  she  did  and  ate  it,  which  proved  to  be 
buffalo-fat.  She  then  went  for  the  water,  which  she 
brought,  and  met  them  in  the  village  where  they  had 
walked,  and  they  both  drank  of  it — nothing  more  was 
done. 

"  The  friends  of  the  girl  soon  after  endeavored  to  disgrace 
her,  by  telling  her  that  she  was  enciente,  which  she  did  not 
deny.  She  declared  her  innocence  at  the  same  time,  and 
boldly  defied  any  man  in  the  village  to  come  forward  and 
accuse  her.  This  raised  a  great  excitement  in  the  village, 
and  as  no  one  could  stand  forth  to  accuse  her,  she  was 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


281 


looked  upon  as  great  medicine.  She  soon  afler  went  off 
secretly  to  the  upper  Mandan  village  where  the  child  was 
born. 

"Great  search  was  made  for  her  before  she  was  found; 
as  it  was  expected  that  the  child  would  also  be  great 
medicine  or  mystery,  and  of  great  importance  to  the  exist- 
ence and  welfare  of  the  tribe.  They  were  induced  to  this 
belief  from  the  very  strange  manner  of  its  conception  and 
birth,  and  were  soon  confirmed  in  it  from  the  wonderful 
things  which  it  did  at  an  early  age.  They  say,  that 
amongst  other  miracles  which  he  performed,  when  the 
Mandans  were  like  to  starve,  he  gave  them  four  buffalo 
bulls,  which  filled  the  whole  village — leaving  as  much 
meat  as  there  was  before  they  had  eaten ;  saying  that  these 
four  bulls  would  supply  them  for  ever.  Nu-mohk-muck- 
a-nah  (the  first  or  only  man)  was  bent  on  the  destruction 
of  the  child,  and  after  making  many  fruitless  searches  for 
it,  found  it  hidden  in  a  dark  place,  and  put  it  to  death  by 
throwing  it  into  the  river. 

•'  When  0-kee-hee-de  (the  Evil  Spirit)  heard  of  the  death 
of  this  child,  he  sought  for  Nu-mohk-muck-a-nah  with 
intent  to  kill  him.  He  traced  him  a  long  distance,  and  at 
length  found  him  at  Heart  River,  about  seventy  miles 
below  the  village,  with  the  big  medicine-pipe  in  his  hand, 
the  charm  or  mystery  of  which  protects  him  from  all  his 
enemies.  They  soon  agreed,  however,  to  become  friends, 
smoked  the  big  pipe  together,  and  returned  to  the  Mandan 
village.  The  Evil  Spirit  was  satisfied;  and  Nu-mohk- 
muck-a-nah  told  the  Mandans  never  to  pass  Heart  River  to 
live,  for  it  was  the  centre  of  the  world,  and  to  live  beyond 
it  would  be  destruction  to  them ;  and  he  named  it  Nat-oom- 
pa-sa-hah  (heart  or  centre  of  the  world)." 

Such  are  a  few  of  the  principal  traditions  of  these  people, 
which  I  have  thought  proper  to  give  in  this  place,  and  I 
have  given  them  in  their  own  way,  with  all  the  imper- 
fections and  absurd  inconsistencies  which  should  bo  ex- 
pected to  characterize  the  history  of  all  ignorant  and 


p  *  ii 


282 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


superstitious  people  who  live  in  a  state  of  simple  and 
untaught  nature,  with  no  other  means  of  perpetuating 
historical  events,  than  by  oral  traditions. 

I  advance  these  vague  stories  then,  as  I  have  done,  and 
shall  do  in  other  instances,  not  in  support  of  any  theory 
but  merely  as  I  have  heard  them  related  by  the  Indians  • 
and  preserved  them,  as  I  have  everything  else  that  I  could 
meet  in  the  Indian  habits  and  character,  for  the  information 
of  the  world,  who  may  get  more  time  to  theorize  than  I 
have  at  present ;  and  who  may  consider  better  than  I  can 
how  far  such  traditions  should  be  taken  as  evidence  of  the 
facts,  that  these  people  have  for  a  long  period  preserved 
and  perpetuated  an  imperfect  knowledge  of  the  Deluge — of 
the  appearance  and  death  of  a  Saviour — and  of  the  trans- 
gressions of  mother  Eve. 

I  am  not  yet  able  to  learn  from  these  people  whether 
they  have  any  distinct  theory  of  the  creation ;  as  they  seem 
to  date  nothing  further  back  than  their  own  existence  as  a 
people;  saying  (as  I  have  before  mentioned),  that  they 
were  the  first  people  created;  involving  the  glaring  absurd- 
ities that  they  were  the  only  people  on  earth  before  the 
Flood,  and  the  only  one  saved  was  a  white  man ;  or  that 
they  were  created  inside  of  the  earth,  as  their  tradition 
says ;  and  that  they  did  not  make  their  appearance  on  its 
outer  surface  until  after  the  Deluge.  When  an  Indian 
story  is  told,  it  is  like  all  other  gifts,  "  to  be  taken  for  what 
it  is  worth,"  and  for  any  seeming  inconsistency  in  their 
traditions  tliere  is  no  remedy ;  for  as  far  as  I  have  tried  to 
reconcile  them  by  reasoning  with,  or  questioning  them,  I 
have  been  entirely  defeated;  and  more  than  that,  have 
generally  incurred  their  distrust  and  ill-will.  One  of  the 
Mandau  Doctors  told  me  very  gravely  a  few  days  since, 
that  tlie  earth  was  a  large  tortoise,  that  it  carried  the  dirt 
on  its  back — that  a  tribe  of  people,  who  are  now  dead,  and 
Avhose  faces  were  white,  used  to  dig  down  very  deep  in  this 
ground  to  catch  badgers;  and  that  one  day  they  stuck  a 
knife  through  the  tortoise-shell,  and  it  sunk  down  so  that 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


288 


tho  water  ran  over  its  baok,  and  drowned  all  but  one  man. 
And  on  the  next  day  while  I  was  painting  his  portrait,  he 
told  me  there  were  four  torloiaes, — one  in  the  North — one 
in  the  East— one  in  the  South,  and  one  in  the  West ;  that 
each  one  of  these  rained  ten  days,  and  the  water  ooverod 
over  the  earth. 

These  ignorant  and  conflicting  accounts,  and  both  from 
the  same  man,  give  as  good  a  demonstration,  perhaps,  of 
what  I  have  above  mentioned,  as  to  the  inefficiency  of 
Indian  traditions  as  anything  I  could  at  present  mention. 
Thoy  might,  perhaps,  have  been  in  this  instance  however 
the  creeds  of  different  sects,  or  of  different  priests  amongst 
them,  who  often  advance  diametrically  opposite  theories 
and  traditions  relative  to  history  and  mythology. 

And  however  ignorant  and  ridiculoua  they  may  seem, 
they  are  yet  worthy  of  a  little  further  consideration,  as 
relating  to  a  number  of  curious  circumstances  connected 
with  the  unaccountable  religious  ceremonies  which  I  have 
just  described. 

The  Mandan  chiefs  and  doctors,  in  all  their  feasts,  where 
the  pipe  is  lit  and  about  to  be  passed  around,  deliberately 
propitiate  the  good-will  and  favor  of  the  Great  Spirit,  by 
extending  the  stem  of  the  pipe  upwards  before  they  smoke 
it  themselves ;  and  also  as  deliberately  and  as  strictly 
offering  the  stem  to  the  four  cardinal  pointe  in  succession, 
and  then  drawing  a  whiff  through  it,  passing  it  around 
amongst  the  group. 

Tho  anmuil  religious  ceremony  invariably  lasts  four  days, 
and  the  other  following  circumstances  attending  these 
strange  forms,  and  seeming  to  have  some  allusion  to  the 
four  cardinal  points,  or  the  "  four  tortoises,"  seem  to  me  to 
be  worthy  of  further  notice.  Four  men  are  selected  by 
Nu-mohk-muck-a-nah  (as  I  have  before  said),  to  cleanse 
out  and  prepare  the  medicine-lodge  for  the  occasion — one 
he  calls  from  the  north  part  of  the  village— one  from  the 
east — one  from  the  south,  and  one  from  the  west.  The  four 
sacks  of  water,  in  form  of  large  tortoises,  resting  on  the 


,tt. 


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PiU 

■  ,•  • 

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iltl 

284 


LITTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


floor  of  the  lodge  and  before  described,  would  seem  to  be 
typical  of  the  same  thing ;  and  also  the  four  buffalo,  and 
the  four  human  skulls  resting  on  the  floor  of  the  sarao 
lodge — the  four  couples  of  dancers  in  the  "  bull-dance,"  as 
before  described ;  and  also  the  four  intervening  dancers  in 
the  same  dance,  and  also  decribed. 

The  bull-dance  in  front  of  the  medioine-lodge,  repeated 
on  the  four  days,  is  danced  four  times  on  the  first  day, 
tight  times  on  the  second,  twtlve  times  on  the  third,  and 
tixixcn  times  on  the/oi/r/A ;  (adding  four  dances  on  each  of 
the /our  days,)  which  added  together  make  forty^  the  exact 
number  of  days  that  it  rained  upon  the  earth  according  to 
the  Mosaic  account,  to  produce  the  Deluge.  There  are 
four  sacrifices  of  black  and  blue  cloths  erected  over  the 
door  of  the  medicine-lodge — the  visits  of  Oh-keehee-de  (or 
Evil  Spirit)  wjere  paid  to  four  of  the  buffaloes  in  the  buffalo- 
dance,  as  above  described ;  and  in  every  instance,  the 
young  men  who  underwent  the  tortures  before  explained, 
had /our  splints  or  skewers  run  through  the  flesh  on  their 
legs— /our  through  the  arms  and /our  through  the  body. 

Such  is  a  brief  account  of  these  strange  scenes  which  I 
have  just  been  witnessing,  and  such  my  brief  history  of 
the  Mandans.  I  might  write  much  more  on  them,  giving 
yet  a  volume  on  their  stories  and  traditions ;  but  it  would 
be  a  volume  of  fables,  and  scarce  worth  recording.  A 
nation  of  Indians  in  their  primitive  condition,  where  there 
are  no  historians,  have  but  a  temporary  historical  existence, 
for  the  reasons  above  advanced,  and  their  history,  what 
can  be  certainly  learned  of  it,  may  be  written  in  a  very 
small  compass. 

I  have  dwelt  longer  on  the  history  and  customs  of  these 
people  than  I  have  or  shall  on  any  other  tribe,  in  all 
probability,  and  that  from  the  fact  that  I  have  found  them 
a  very  peculiar  people,  as  will  have  been  seen  by  my 
notes. 

From  these  very  numerous  and  striking  peculiarities  in 
their  personal  appearance — their  customs — traditions  and 


ii=-' 


VORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


285 


langungo,  I  have  been  led  conclusively  to  believe  that  they 
arc  a  people  of  decidedly  a  dlQuront  origin  from  that  of 
any  other  tribe  in  these  regions.  ■     ' 

From  these  reasons,  as  well  as  from  the  fact  that  they 
are  a  small  and  feeble  tribe,  against  whom  the  powerful 
tribe  of  Sioux  are  waging  a  deadly  war  with  the  prospect 
of  their  extermination ;  and  who  with  their  limited 
numbers,  are  not  likely  to  hold  out  long  in  their  struggle 
for  existence,  I  have  taken  more  pains  to  portray  their 
whole  character,  than  my  limited  means  will  allow  me  to 
bestow  upon  other  tribes. 

From  the  ignorant  and  barbarous  and  disgusting 
customs  just  recited,  the  world  would  naturally  infer, 
that  these  people  must  be  the  most  cruel  and  inhuman 
beings  in  the  world — yet,  such  is  not  the  case,  and  it 
becomes  my  duty  to  say  it;  a  better,  more  honest, 
hospitable  and  kind  people,  as  a  community,  are  not  to  be 
found  in  the  world.  No  set  of  men  that  ever  I  associated 
with  have  better  hearts  than  the  Mandans,  and  none 
are  quicker  to  embrace  and  welcome  a  white  man  than 
they  are — none  will  press  him  closer  to  his  bosom,  that 
the  pulsation  of  his  heart  may  be  felt,  than  a  Mandan ;  and 
no  man  in  any  country  will  keep  his  word  and  guard  his 
honor  more  closely. 

The  shocking  and  disgusting  custom  that  I  have  just 
described,  sickens  the  heart  and  even  the  stomach  of  a 
traveller  in  the  country,  and  he  weeps  for  their  ignorance 
— he  pities  them  with  all  his  heart  for  their  blindness,  and 
laments  that  the  light  of  civilization,  of  agriculture  and 
religion  cannot  be  extended  to  them,  and  that  their  hearts 
which  are  good  enough,  could  not  be  turned  to  embrace 
something  more  rational  and  conducive  to  their  true 
happiness. 

Many  would  doubtless  ask,  whether  such  a  barbarous  cus- 
tom could  be  eradicated  from  these  people?  and  whether 
their  thoughts  and  tastes,  being  turned  to  agriculture  and 
religion,  could  be  made  to  abandon  the  dark  and  random 


li 


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v. "  mil. 


286 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


channel  in  wbich  thoy  are  drudging,  and  made  to  flow  in 
the  light  and  life  of  civilization  ? 

To  this  query  I  answer  yes.  Although  this  is  a  custom 
of  long  standing,  being  a  part  of  their  religion ;  and  pro- 
bably  valued  as  one  of  their  dearest  rights ;  and  notwith- 
standing the  difficulty  of  making  inroads  upon  the  religion 
of  a  people  in  whose  country  there  is  no  severance  of 
opinions,  and  consequently  no  division  into  different  sects 
with  different  creeds  to  shake  their  faith ;  I  still  believe 
and  I  know,  that  by  a  judicious  and  persevering  effort,  this 
abominable  custom,  and  others,  might  be  extinguished,  and 
the  beautiful  green  fields  about  the  Mandan  village  might 
be  turned  into  productive  gardens,  and  the  waving  green 
bluffs  that  are  spread  in  the  surrounding  distance,  might  be 
spotted  with  lowing  kine  instead  of  the  sneaking  wolves 
and  the  hobbled  war-horses  that  are  now  stalking  about 
them. 

All  ignorant  and  superstitious  people,  it  is  a  well-known 
fact,  are  the  most  fixed  and  stubborn  in  their  religious 
opinions,  and  perhaps  the  most  difficult  to  divert  from 
their  established  belief,  from  the  very  fact  that  they  are  the 
most  difficult  to  reason  with.  Here  is  an  ignorant  race  of 
human  beings,  who  have  from  time  immemorial  been  in 
the  habit  of  worshipping  in  their  own  way,  and  of  enjoy- 
ing their  religious  opinions  without  ever  having  heard  any 
one  to  question  their  correctness;  and  in  these  op'nions 
they  are  quiet  and  satisfied,  and  it  requires  a  patient,  gra- 
dual, and  untiring  effort  to  convince  such  a  people  that 
they  are  wrong,  and  to  work  the  desired  change  in  their 
belief,  and  consequently  in  their  actions. 

It  is  decidedly  my  opinion,  however,  that  such  a  thing 
can  bo  done,  and  I  do  not  believe  there  is  a  race  of  wild 
people  on  earth  where  the  experiment  could  be  more  suc- 
cessfully made  than  amongst  the  kind  and  hospitable 
Mandans,  nor  any  place  where  the  Missionary  labors  of 
pious  and  iniustrious  men  would  be  more  sure  to  succeed, 
or  more  certain  to  be  rewarded  in  the  world  to  come. 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


287 


I  deem  such  a  trial  of  patience  and  perseverance  with 
these  people  of  great  importance,  and  well  worth  the 
experiment.  One  which  I  shall  hope  soon  to  see  accom- 
plished, and  which,  if  properly  conducted,  I  am  sure  will 
result  in  success.  Severed  as  they  are  from  the  contam- 
inating and  counteracting  vices  which  oppose  and  thwart 
most  of  the  best  efforts  of  the  Missionaries  along  the  fron- 
tier, and  free  from  the  almost  fatal  prejudices  which  they 
have  there  to  contend  with ;  they  present  a  better  field  for 
the  labor  of  such  benevolent  teachers  than  they  have  yet 
worked  in,  and  a  far  better  chance  than  they  have  yet  had 
of  proving  to  the  world  that  the  poor  Indian  is  not  a  brute 
— that  he  is  a  human  and  a  humane  being,  that  he  is  capa- 
ble of  improvement — and  that  his  mind  is  a  beautiful  blank 
on  which  anything  can  be  written  if  the  proper  means  bo 
taken. 

The  Mandans  being  but  a  small  tribe,  of  two  thousand 
only,  and  living  all  in  two  villages,  in  sight  of  each  other, 
and  occupying  these  permanently,  without  roaming  about 
like  other  neighboring  tribes,  offer  undoubtedly,  the  best 
opportunity  for  such  an  experiment  of  any  tribe  in  the 
country.    The  land  about  their  villages   is  of  the  best 
quality  for  ploughing  and  grazing,  and  the  water  just  such 
as  would  be  desired.     Their  villages  are  fortified  with 
piquets  or  stockades,  which  protect  them  from  the  assaults 
of  their  enemies  at  home ;   and  the  introducion  of  agricul- 
ture (which  would  supply  them  with  the  necessaries  and 
luxuries  of  life,  without  the  necessity  of  continually  expo- 
sin''  their  lives  to  their  more  numerous  enemies  on  tho 
plains,  when  they  are  seeking  in  the  chase  the  means 
of  their  subsistnce)  would  save  them  from  the  continual 
wastes  of  life,  to  which,  in  their  wars  and  the  chase  they 
are  continually  exposed,   which  are    calculated  soon   to 
result  in  their  extinction. 

T  deem  it  not  folly  nor  idle  to  say  that  these  people  can 
he  saved,  nor  officious  to  suggest  to  some  of  the  very  many 
excellent  and  pious  men,  who  are  almost  throwing  away 


288 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES. 


the  best  energies  of  their  lives  along  the  debased  frontier, 
that  if  they  wo  aid  introduce  the  ploughshare  and  their 
prayers  amongst  these  people,  who  are  so  far  separated 
from  the  taints  and  contaminating  vices  of  the  frontier, 
they  would  soon  see  their  most  ardent  desires  accom- 
plished  and  be  able  to  solve  to  the  world  the  perplexing 
enigma,  by  presenting  a  nation  of  savages,  civilized  and 
christianized  (and  consequently  saved),  in  the  heart  of  the 
American  wilderness. 


LETTER  No.  XXIII. 
MINATAREE  VILLAGE,  UPPER  MISSOURI 

Soon  after  witnessing  the  curious  scenes  described  in 
the  former  Letters,  I  changed  my  position  to  the  place 
from  whence  I  am  now  writing — to  the  village  of  the 
Minatarees,  which  is  also  located  on  the  west  bank  of  the 
Missouri  river,  and  only  eight  miles  above  the  Mandans. 
On  my  way  down  the  river  in  my  eanoe,  I  passed  this 
village  without  ^.ttcnding  to  their  earnest  and  clamorous 
iavitations  for  me  to  come  ashore,  and  it  will  thus  be  seen 
that  I  am  retrograding  a  little,  to  see  all  that  is  to  be  seen 
in  this  singular  country. 

I  liave  been  residing  here  some  weeks,  and  am  able 
already  to  say  of  these  people  as  follows : 

19  (289) 


290 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


The  Minatarees  (people  of  the  willows)  are  a  small  tribe 
of  about  one  thousand  five  hundred  souls,  residing  in  three 
villages  of  earth-covered  lodges,  on  the  banks  of  Knifo 
river ;  a  small  stream,  so  called,  meandering  through  a 
beautiful  and  extensive  prairie,  and  uniting  its  waters  with 
the  Missouri. 

This  small  community  is  undoubtedly  a  part  of  the  tribe 
of  Crows,  of  whom  I  have  already  spoken,  living  at  the 
base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  who  have  at  some  remote 
period,  either  in  their  war  or  hunting  excursions,  been  run 
off  by  their  enemy,  and  their  retreat  having  been  prevented 
have  thrown  themselves  upon  the  hospitality  of  the  Man- 
dans,  to  whom  they  have  looked  for  protection,  and  under 
whose  wing  they  are  now  living  in  a  sort  of  confederacy 
ready  to  intermarry  and  also  to  join,  as  they  often  have 
done,  in  the  common  defence  of  their  country. 

In  language  and  personal  appearance,  as  well  as  in 
many  of  their  customs,  they  are  types  of  the  Crows:  yet 
having  adopted  and  so  long  lived  under  its  influence,  the 
I  '^stem  of  the  Mandans,  they  are  much  like  them  in  many 
respects,  and  continually  assimilating  to  the  modes  of  their 
patrons  and  protectors.  Amongst  their  vague  and  various 
traditions  they  have  evidently  some  disjointed  authority 
for  the  manner  in  which  they  came  here ;  but  no  account 
of  the  time.  They  say,  that  they  came  poor — without 
wigwams  or  horses — were  nearly  all  women,  as  their 
warriors  had  been  killed  off  in  their  flight ;  that  the  Man- 
dans  would  not  take  them  into  their  village,  nor  let  them 
come  nearer  than  where  they  are  now  living,  and  there 
assisted  them  to  build  their  villages.  From  these  circum- 
stances their  wigwams  have  been  constructed  exactly  in 
the  same  manner  as  those  of  the  Mandans  which  I  have 
already  described,  and  entirely  distinct  from  any  custom 
to  be  seen  in  the  Crow  tribe. 

Notwithstanding  the  long  familiarity  in  which  they 
have  lived  with  the  Mandans,  and  the  complete  adoption 
of  most  of  their  customs,  yet  it  is  almost  an  unaccountable 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


291 


fact,  that  there  is  scarcely  a  man  in  the  tribe  who  can 
speak  half  a  dozen  words  of  the  Mandan  language; 
although  on  the  other  hand,  the  Mandans  are  most  of  them 
able  to  converse  in  the  Minataree  tongue ;  leaving  us  to 
conclude,  either  that  the  Minatarees  are  a  very  inert  and 
stupid  people,  or  that  the  Mandan  language  (which  is  most 
probably  the  case)  being  different  from  any  other  language 
in  the  country,  is  an  exceedingly  difficult  one  to  learn. 

The  principal  village  of  the  Minatarees  which  is  built 
upon  the  bank  of  the  Knife  river  contains  forty  or  fifty 
earth-covered  wigwams,  from  forty  to  fifty  feet  in  diameter, 
and  being  elevated,  overlooks  the  other  two  which  are  on 
lower  ground  and  almost  lost  amidst  their  numerous  corn 
fields  and  other  profuse  vegetation  which  cover  the  earth 
with  their  luxuriant  growth. 

The  scenery  along  the  banks  of  this  little  river,  from 
village  to  village,  is  quite  peculiar  and  curious ;  rendered 
extremely  so  by  the  continual  wild  and  garrulous  groups 
of  men,  women,  and  children,  who  are  wending  their  way 
along' its  winding  shores,  or  dashing  and  plunging  through 
its  blue  waves,  enjoying  the  luxury  of  swimming,  of  which 
both  sexes  seem  to  be  passionately  fond.  Others  are 
paddling  about  in  their  tub-like  canoes,  made  of  the  skins 
of  buffaloes ;  and  every  now  and  then,  are  to  be  seen  their 
sudatories,  or  vapor-baths,  where  steam  is  raised  by 
throwing  water  on  to  heated  stones ;  and  the  patient  jumps 
from  his  sweating-house  and  leaps  into  the  river  in  the 
highest  state  of  perspiration,  as  I  have  more  fully  described 
whilst  speaking  of  the  bathing  of  the  Mandans. 

The  chief  sachem  of  this  tribe  is  a  very  ancient  and 
patriarchal  looking  man,  by  the  name  of  Eeh-tohk-pah- 
siice-poc-shah  (the  black  moccasin),  and  counts,  undoubtedly, 
more  than  an  hundred  snows.  I  have  been  for  some  days 
an  inmate  of  his  hospitable  lodge,  where  he  sits  tottering 
with  age,  and  silently  reigns  sole  monarch  of  his  little 
community  around  him,  who  are  continually  dropping  in 
to  cheer    his  sinking  energies,    and    render    him    their 


^i#:sJ 


;  ;i,;.^.,':r.    «W;''i:'i^ 


m:- 


292 


LBTTEBS  AND  NOTES  ON  THK 


homage.  His  voice  and  hia  sight  are  nearly  gone;  hut 
the  gestured  of  his  hand  are  yet  energetic  and  youthful 
and  freely  speak  the  language  of  his  kind  heart. 

I  have  been  treated  in  the  kindest  manner  by  this  old 
chief;  and  have  painted  his  portrait  as  he  was  seated  on 
the  floor  of  his  wigwam,  smoking  his  pipe,  whilst  he  was 
recounting  over  to  me  some  of  the  extraordinary  feats  of 
his  life,  with  a  beautiful  Crow  robe  wrapped  around  him 
and  his  hair  wound  up  in  a  conical  form  upon  his  head 
and  fastened  with  a  small  wooden  pin,  to  keep  it  in  its 
place. 

This  man  has  many  distinct  recollections  of  Lewis  and 
Clarke,  who  were  the  first  explorers  of  this  country,  and 


LONO  KNIFE — CAPTAIN  LEWIS. 


who  crossed  the  Rocky  Mountains  thirty  years  ago.    It 
will  be  seen  by  reference  to  thoir  very  interesting  history 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


293 


of  their  tour,  that  they  were  treated  with  great  kindness  by 
this  man ;  and  that  they  in  consequence  constitu+'^d  him 
chief  of  the  tribe,  with  the  consent  of  his  people ;  and  he 
has  remained  their  chief  ever  since.  lie  enquired  very 
earnestly  for  "  Red  Hair"  and  "  Long  Knife"  (as  he  had 
ever  since  termed  Lewis  and  Clarke),  from  the  fact,  that 
one  had  red  hair  (an  unexampled  thing  in  his  country), 
and  the  other  wore  a  broad  sword  which  gained  for  him 
the  appellation  of  "  Long  Knife." 

I  have  told  him  that  "Long  Knife"  has  been  many  years 
dead  ;  and  that  "  Red  Hair"  is  yet  living  in  St.  Louis,  and 
no  doubt  would  be  glad  to  hear  of  him ;  at  which  he 
seemed  much  pleased,  and  has  signified  to  me  that  he  will 
make  me  bearer  of  some  peculiar  dispatches  to  him.* 

The  name  by  which  these  people  are  generally  called 
(Grosventres)  is  one  given  them  by  the  French  Traders,  and 
lias  probably  been  applied  to  them  with  some  degree  of 
propriety  or  fitness,  as  contradistinguished  from  the  Man- 
dans,  amongst  whom  these  Traders  were  living ;  and  who 
are  a  small  race  of  Indians,  being  generally  at  or  below  the 
average  stature  of  man ;  whilst  the  Minatarees  are  generally 
tall  and  heavily  built.  There  is  no  tribe  in  the  western 
wilds,  perhaps,  who  are  better  entitled  to  the  style  of  war- 
like, than  the  Minatarees ;  for  they,  unlike  the  Mandans, 
are  continually  carrying  war  into  their  enemies'  country  ; 
oftentimes  drawing  the  poor  Mandans  into  unnecessary 
broils,  and  suffering  so  much  themselves  in  their  desperate 
war  executions,  that  I  find  the  proportion  of  women  to  the 
number  of  men  as  two  or  three  to  one,  through  the  tribe. 

The  son  of  Black  Moccasin,  whose  name  is  Ee-a-ohin- 
che-a  (the  red  thunder,)  and  who  is  reputed  one  of  the  most 

*  About  a  year  after  writing  the  above,  and  whilst  I  was  in  St.  Lonis, 
I  had  the  pleasure  of  presenting  the  complimenta  of  this  old  veteran  to 
General  Clarke ;  and  also  of  shewing  to  him  the  portrait,  whicii  he 
instantly  rccoguized  amongst  hundreds  of  others ;  saying,  that  "  they 
had  considered  the  Black  Moccasin  quite  an  old  man  when  they  ap- 
pointed him  chief  thirty-two  years  ago. 


't«l 


294 


LETTKRa  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


desperate  warriors  of  his  tribe,  I  have  also  painted  at  full 
length,  iu  his  war-dress,  with  his  bow  in  his  hand,  hia 
quiver  slung,  and  his  shield  upon  his  arm.  In  this  plight 
satis  head-dress,  sans  robe,  and  sans  everything  that  might 
be  an  useless  incumbrance — with  the  body  chiefly  naked 
and  profusely  bedaubed  with  rod  and  black  paint,  so  as  to 
form  an  almost  perfect  disguise,  the  Indian  warriors  inva- 
riably sally  forth  to  war;  save  the  chief,  who  always 
plumes  himself,  and  leads  on  his  little  band,  tenderino- 
himself  to  his  enemies  a  conspicuous  mark,  with  all  hia 
ornaments  and  trophies  upon  him;  that  his  enemies  if 
they  get  him,  may  get  a  prize  worth  the  fighting  for. 

Besides  chiefs  and  warriors  to  be  admired  in  this  little 
tribe,  there  are  many  beautiful  and  voluptuous  lookinw 
women,  who  are  continually  crowding  in  throngs,  and 
gazing  upon  a  stranger;  and  possibly  shedding  more 
bewitching  smiles  from  a  sort  of  necessity,  growing  out  of 
the  great  disparity  in  numbers  between  them  and  the 
rougher  sex,  to  which  I  have  before  alluded. 

From  the  very  numerous  groups  of  these  that  have  from 
day  to  day  constantly  pressed  upon  mo,  overlooking  the 
operations  of  my  brush ;  I  have  been  unable  to  get  more 
than  one  who  would  consent  to  have  her  portrait  painted 
owing  to  some  foar  or  dread  of  harm  that  might  eventually 
ensue  in  consequence;  or  from  a  natural  coyness  or 
timidity,  which  is  surpassing  all  description  amongst  these 
wild  tribes,  when  iu  presence  of  strangers. 

The  one  whom  I  have  painted  is  a  descendant  from  the 
old  chief;  and  though  not  the  most  beautil'ul,  is  yet  a  fair 
sample  of  them,  and  dressed  in  a  beautiful  costume  of  tlio 
mountain-sheep  skin,  handsomely  garnished  with  porcu- 
pine quills  and  beads.  This  girl  was  almost  compelled  to 
stand  for  her  picture  by  her  relatives  who  urged  her  on, 
whilst  she  modestly  declined,  ofl'ering  as  her  excuse  that 
"  she  was  not  j)retfy  enough,  and  that  her  picture  would  he 
laughed  at."  This  was  either  ignorance  or  excessive  art  ou 
her  part;  for  she  was  certainly  more  than  comely,  and  thf 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


SM 


beauty  of  her  name,  Scet-ae-boa  (the  midday  sun,)  is  quite 
enough  to  make  up  for  a  deficiency,  if  there  were  any,  in 
the  beauty  of  her  face. 

I  mentioned  that  I  found  these  people  raising  abundance 
of  com  or  maize ;  and  I  have  happened  to  visit  them  in 
the  season  of  their  festivities,  which  annually  take  place 
when  the  ears  of  corn  are  of  the  proper  size  for  eating. 
The  green  corn  is  considered  a  great  luxury  by  all  those 
tribes  who  cultivate  it;  and  is  ready  for  eating  as  soon 
as  the  ear  is  of  full  size,  and  the  kernels  are  expanded  to 
their  full  growth,  but  are  yet  soft  and  pulpy.  In  this  green 
state  of  the  corn,  it  is  boiled  and  dealt  out  in  great  profu- 
sion to  the  whole  tribe,  who  feast  and  surfeit  upon  it  whilst 
it  lasts ;  rendering  thanks  to  the  Great  Spirit  for  the  return 
of  this  joyful  season,  which  they  do  by  making  sacrifices, 
by  dancing,  and  singing  songs  of  thanksgiving.  This  joy- 
ful occasion  is  one  valued  alike,  and  conducted  in  a  similar 
manner,  by  most  of  the  tribes  who  raise  the  corn,  however 
remote  they  may  be  from  each  other.  It  lasts  but  for  a 
week  or  ten  days ;  being  limited  to  the  longest  term  that 
the  corn  remains  in  this  tender  and  palatable  state ;  during 
which  time  all  hunting,  and  all  war-excursions,  and  all 
other  avocations,  are  positively  dispensed  with ;  and  all 
join  in  the  most  excessive  indulgence  of  gluttony  and  con- 
viviality that  can  possibly  be  conceived.  The  fields  of  corn 
are  generally  pretty  well  stripped  during  this  excess ;  and 
the  poor  improvident  Indian  thanks  the  Great  Spirit  for 
the  indulgence  he  has  had,  and  is  satisfied  to  ripen  merely 
the  few  ears  that  are  necessary  for  his  next  year's  planting, 
without  reproaching  himself  for  his  wanton  lavishness, 
which  has  laid  waste  his  fine  field,  and  robbed  him  of  the 
golden  harvest,  which  might  have  gladdened  his  heart, 
with  those  of  his  wife  and  little  children,  through  the  cold 
and  dreariness  of  winter. 

The  most  remarkable  feature  of  these  joyous  occasions  is 
the  green  com  dmice,  which  is  always  given  as  preparatory 


^1 


M'?C  111} 


I      ' 


»i' 


r'*A^flii 


".^-• 


296 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


to  the  feast,  and  by  most  of  tho  tribes  in  the  following 
manner: — 

At  tbo  usual  season,  and  the  time  when  from  outward 
ap*^  iaranco  of  tho  stalks  and  ears  of  corn,  it  is  supposed  to 
bo  nearly  ready  for  use,  several  of  the  old  women  who  arc 
the  owners  of  fields  or  patches  of  corn  (for  such  are  the  pro- 
prietors and  cultivators  of  all  crops  in  Indian  countries,  tho 
men  never  turn  their  hands  to  such  degrading  occupations) 
are  delegated  by  tho  medicine-men  to  look  at  tho  corn-fields 
every  morning  at  sun-rise  and  bring  into  tho  council-house 
where  the  kettle  ia  ready,  several  ears  of  corn,  the  husks  of 
which  the  women  are  not  allowed  to  break  open  or  even  to 
peep  through.  The  women  then  are  from  day  to  day  dis- 
charged and  the  doctors  left  to  decide,  imtil  from  repeated 
examinations  they  como  to  the  decision  that  it  will  do ;  when 
they  dispatch  runners  or  criers,  announcing  to  every  part  of 
tho  village  or  tribe  that  the  Great  Spirit  has  been  kind  to 
them,  and  they  must  all  meet  on  the  next  day  to  return 
thanks  for  his  goodness.  That  all  must  empty  their  stom- 
achs, and  prepare  for  tho  feast  that  is  approaching. 

On  the  day  appointed  by  the  doctors,  the  villagers  arc  all 
assembled,  and  in  the  midst  of  tho  group  a  kettle  is  hung 
over  the  fire  and  filled  with  tho  green  corn,  which  is  well 
boiled,  to  be  given  to  the  Great  Spirit,  as  sf,  sacrifice  neces- 
sary to  be  made  before  any  one  can  indulge  the  cravings  of 
his  appetite.  "Whilst  this  first  kettleful  is  boiling,  four  nicdi- 
cino-men,  with  a  stalk  of  the  corn  in  one  hand  and  a  rattle 
(shc-sho-quoi)  in  tho  other,  with  their  bodies  painted  with 
white  clay,  dance  around  tho  kettle,  chanting  a  song  of 
thanksgiving  to  the  Groat  Spirit  to  whom  tho  offering  is  to 
be  made.  At  the  samo  time  a  number  of  warriors  are 
dancing  around  in  a  more  extended  circle,  with  stalks  of 
the  corn  in  their  hands,  and  joining  also  in  the  song  of 
thanksgiving,  whilst  the  villagers  are  all  assembled  and 
looking  on.  During  this  scene  there  is  an  arrangement  of 
wooden  bowls  laid  upon  the  ground,  in  which  the  feast  is  to 


I 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


297 


be  dealt  out,  each  one  having  iu  it  a  spoon  made  of  the 
buffalo  or  mouutain-ahecp's  horn. 

Ill  this  wise  the  dance  continues  until  the  doctors  decide 
that  the  corn  is  sufliciently  boiled ;  it  then  stops  for  u  few 
moments,  and  again  assumes  a  different  form  and  a  different 
song,  whilst  the  doctors  are  placing  the  ears  on  a  little  scaf- 
fold of  little  sticks,  which  they  erect  immediately  over  the 
firo  where  it  is  entirely  consumed,  as  they  join  again  in  the 
dance  around  it. 

The  fire  is  then  removed,  and  with  it  the  ashes,  which 
together  are  buried  in  the  ground  and  new  fire  is  originated 
on  the  same  spot  where  the  old  one  was,  by  friction,  which 
is  done  by  a  desperate  and  painful  exertion  by  three  men 
seated  on  the  ground,  facing  each  other  and  violently  drill- 
ing the  end  of  a  stick  into  a  hard  block  of  wood  by  rolling 
it  between  the  hands,  each  one  catching  it  in  turn  from  the 
others  without  allowing  the  motion  to  stop  until  smoke, 
and  at  last  a  spark  of  fire  is  seen  and  caught  in  a  piece  of 
punk,  when  there  is  great  rejoicing  in  the  crowd.  With 
this  a  fire  is  kindled,  and  the  kettleful  of  corn  again  boiled 
for  the  feast,  at  which  the  chiefs,  doctors,  and  warriors  are 
seated:  and  afler  this  an  unlimited  license  is  given  to  the 
whole  tribe,  who  surfeit  upon  it  and  indulge  in  all  their 
favorite  amusements  and  excesses,  until  the  fields  of  corn 
are  exhausted,  or  its  ears  have  become  too  hard  for  their 
comfortable  mastication. 

Such  are  the  general  features  of  the  green  corn  festivity 
and  dance  amongst  most  of  the  tribes;  and  amongst  some 
there  are  many  additional  forms  and  ceremonies  gone 
through,  preparatory  to  the  indulgence  in  the  feast. 

Some  of  the  southern  tribes  concoct  a  most  bitter  and  nau- 
seating draught,  which  they  call  asceoh.  (the  black  drink), 
which  they  drink  to  excess  for  several  days  previous  to  the 
feast ;  ejecting  everything  from  their  stomachs  and  intestines, 
enabling  them,  after  this  excessive  and  painful  purgation, 
to  commence  with  the  green  corn  upon  an  empty  and  keen 
stomach. 


'■"Ik 


>''^'''>li' 


'•^- 

■■  ■»  -^  %  M 

1'. 

''■*  ■ -^4 

;'J;-.,|M'*:t?:^'!^ 

*:■!'*.;■ 

'^"^'-''IP^ffl 

ir 

■V'te*;^ 

,  ,„ 

l''lB~'^'^S 

•t;Ai4'  !#5^ 

.  ''}■■'■] 


4  -■>  .       ■    ■ 


▲  OHIEP  OP  TUK  CBOW   INDIANS — PROM  CATLIN'S  FAINTINO, 

LETTER  No.  XXIV. 
MINATAREE  VILLAGE,  UPPER  MISSOURI. 

Epistles  from  such  a  strange  place  as  this,  where  I 
have  no  desk  to  write  from,  or  mail  to  send  them  by,  are 
hastily  scribbled  off  in  my  note-book,  as  I  can  steal  a  little 
time  from  the  gaze  of  the  wild  group  that  is  continually 
about  me;  and  instead  of  sending  them,  keeping  them  to 
bring  with  mo  when  I  make  my  retreat  from  the  country. 
(298) 


NOBTU  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


299 


The  only  place  where  I  can  Batisfactojily  mako  I 'oho 
entries  is  in  tho  shade  of  some  se'iucstored  troo,  t)  which  I 
occasionally  resort,  or  more  often  from  my  bed  (from  wliich 
I  am  now  writing),  enclosed  by  a  sort  of  curtainsi  made  of 
the  skins  of  oiks  or  buffaloes,  completely  encompassing 
me,  where  I  am  reclining  on  a  sacking-bottom,  made  of 
the  buffalo's  hide ;  making  my  entries  and  notes  of  the 
incidents  of  tho  past  day,  amidst  the  roar  and  unintelligible 
din  of  savage  conviviality  that  is  going  on  under  tho  samo 
roof,  and  under  my  own  eye,  whenever  I  feel  disposed  to 
apply  it  to  a  small  aperture  which  brings  at  once  tho  whole 
interior  and  all  its  inmates  within  my  view. 

There  are  at  this  time  some  distinguished  guests,  besides 
myself ,  in  the  lodge  of  the  Black  Aloccasin ;  two  chiefs  or 
leaders  of  a  party  of  Crows,  who  arrived  here  a  few  days 
since,  on  a  visit  to  their  ancient  friends  and  relatives.  The 
consequence  has  been,  that  feasting  and  carousing  have 
been  the  "  order  of  the  day"  hero  for  some  time ;  and  I 
have  luckily  been  a  welcome  participator  in  their  entertain- 
ments. A  distinguished  chief  of  the  Minatarees,  with 
several  others  in  company,  has  been  for  some  months  past 
on  a  visit  to  tho  Crows  and  returned,  attended  by  somo 
remarkably  fine-looking  fellows,  all  mounted  on  fine  horses. 
I  have  said  something  of  these  fine  specimens  of  the  human 
race  heretofore ;  and  as  I  have  been  fastening  more  of  them 
to  the  canvass  within  the  few  days  past,  I  must  use  this 
occasion  to  add  what  follows  : — 

I  think  I  have  said  that  no  part  of  the  human  race  could 
present  a  more  picturesque  and  thrilling  appearance  on 
horseback  than  a  party  of  Crows,  rigged  out  in  all  their 
plumes  and  trappings — galloping  about  and  yelping,  in 
what  they  call  a  war-parade,  i.  e.  in  a  sort  of  tournament  oi 
sham-fight,  passing  rapidly  through  the  evolutions  of  battle, 
and  vaunting  forth  the  wonderful  character  of  their  mili- 
tary exploits.  This  is  an  amusement,  of  which  they  aro 
excessively  fond;  and  great  preparations  are  invariably 
made  for  these  occasional  shows. 


M.iiii«. 


if 


800 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


No  tribe  of  Indians  on  the  Continent  are  better  able  to 
produce  a  pleasing  and  thrilling  effect  in  these  scenes,  nor 
any  more  vain,  and  consequently  better  prepared  to  draw 
pleasure  and  satisfaction  from  them,  than  the  Crows. 
They  may  be  justly  said  to  be  the  most  beautifully  clad  of 
all  the  Indians  in  these  regions,  and  bringing  from  the 
base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  a  fine  and  spirited  breed  of  the 
wild  horses,  have  been  able  to  create  a  great  sensation 
amongst  the  Minatarees,  who  have  been  paying  them  all 
attention  and  all  honors  for  some  days  past. 

From  amongst  these  showy  fellows  who  have  been 
entertaining  us  and  pleasing  themselves  with  their  extra- 
ordinary feats  of  horsemanship,  I  have  selected  one  of  the 
most  conspicuous,  and  transferred  him  and  his  horse,  with 
arms  and  trappings,  as  faithfully  as  I  could  to  the  canvass 
for  the  information  of  the  world,  who  will  learn  vastly 
more  from  lines  and  colors  than  they  could  from  oral  or 
written  delineations. 

I  have  painted  him  as  he  sat  for  me,  balanced  on  his 
leaping  wild  horse,  with  his  shield  and  quiver  slung  on  his 
back,  and  his  long  lance  decorated  with  the  eagle's  quills 
trailed  in  his  right  hand.  His  shirt  and  his  leggingn,  and 
moccasins,  were  of  the  mountain-goat  skins,  beautifully 
dressed ;  and  their  seams  everywhere  fringed  with  a  pro- 
fusion of  scalp-locks  taken  from  the  heads  of  his  enetaies 
slain  in  battle.  His  long  hair,  which  reached  almost  to 
the  ground  whilst  he  was  standing  on  his  feet,  was  now 
lifted  in  the  air,  and  floating  in  black  waves  over  the  hips 
of  his  leaping  charger.  On  his  head,  and  over  his  shining 
black  locks,  he  wore  a  magnificent  crest  or  head-dress, 
made  of  the  quills  of  the  war-eagle  and  ermine  skins;  and 
on  his  horse's  head  also  was  another  of  equal  beauty  and 
precisely  the  same  in  pattern  and  material.  Added  to 
these  ornaments  there  were  yet  many  others  which  con- 
tributed to  his  picturesque  appearance,  and  amongst  them 
a  beautiful  netting  of  varioas  colors,  that  complotely 
covered  and  almost  obscured  the  horse's  head  and  neck, 


NORTH  AMERICiVN  INDIANS. 


801 


and  extended  over  its  buck  o^d  its  hips,  terminating  in  a 
most  extravagant  and  magnii.  3nt  crupper,  embossed  and 
fringed  with  rows  of  beautiful  shells  and  porcupine  quills 
of  various  colors. 

With  all  these  picturesque  ornaments  and  trappings  upon 
and  about  him,  with  a  noble  figure,  and  the  bold  stamp 
of  a  wild  gentleman  on  his  face,  added  to  the  rage  and  spirit 
of  his  wild  horse,  in  time  with  whose  leaps  he  issued  his 
startling  (though  smothered)  yelps,  as  he  gracefully  leaned  to 
and  fro,  leaving  his  plumes  and  his  plumage,  his  long  locks 
and  his  fringes,  to  float  in  the  wind,  he  galloped  about ; 
and  felt  exceeding  pleasure  in  displaying  the  extraordinary 
skill  which  a  lifetime  of  practice  and  experiment  had 
furnished  him  in  the  beautiful  art  of  riding  and  managing 
his  horse,  as  well  as  in  displaying  to  advantage  his  weapons 
and  ornaments  of  dress,  by  giving  them  the  grace  of 
motion,  as  they  were  brandished  in  the  air  and  floating  in 
the  wind. 

In  a  former  Letter  I  have  some  account  of  the  form  of 
the  head  peculiar  to  this  tribe  which  may  well  be  recorded 
as  a  national  characteristic,  and  worthy  of  further  atten- 
tion, which  I  shall  give   it  on   a  future  occasion.    This 
striking  peculiarity  is  quite  conspicuous  in  the  portrait  of 
which  I  have  just  spoken,  exhibiting  fairly,  the  semi-lunar 
outline  of  the  face  of  which  I  have  before  spoken,  and 
which  strongly  characterizes  them  as  distinct  from  any 
relationship  or   resemblance  to   the  Blackfeet,   Shienncs, 
Knistencaux,   Maudans,  or  other  tribes  now  existing  in 
these    regions.     The  peculiar    character  of  which   I  am 
speaking,  like  all  other  national  characteristics,  is  of  course 
met  by  many  exceptions  in  the  tribe,  though  the  greater 
part  of  the  men  are  thus  strongly  marked  with  a  bold  and 
prominent   anti-angular  nose,   with  a  clear  and   rounded 
arch,  and  a  low  and  receding  forehead;  the  frontal  bono 
oftentimes  appearing  to  have  been  compressed  by  some 
effort  of  art,  in  a  certain  degree  approaching  to  the  horrid 
distortion  thus  produced  amongst  the  Flatheads  beyond 


mhn:]- 


802 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


the  Rocky  Mountains.  I  learned  however  from  repeated 
inquiries,  that  no  such  custom  is  practiced  amongst  them 
but  their  heads,  such  as  they  are,  are  the  results  of  a 
natural  growth,  and  therefore  may  well  be  offered  as  the 
basis  of  a  national  or  tribal  character. 

I  recollect  to  have  seen  in  several  publications  on  the 
antiquities  of  Mexico,  many  rude  drawings  made  by  the 
ancient  Mexicans,  of  which  the  singular  profiles  of  these 
people  forcibly  remind  me,  almost  bringing  me  to  the 
conclusion  that  these  people  may  be  the  descendants  of  the 
race  who  have  bequeathed  those  curious  and  inexplicable 
remains  to  the  world,  and  whose  scattered  remnants,  from 
dire  and  unknown  necessities  of  those  dark  and  veiled  ages 
that  have  gone  by,  have  been  jostled  and  thrown  alonfr 
through  the  hideous  and  almost  impenetrable  lab3Tinth3 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  place  of  their  destination 
where  they  now  live.  I  am  stopped,  however,  from 
advancing  such  as  a  theory,  and  much  prefer  to  leave  it  to 
other  hands,  who  may  more  easily  get  over  difficulties 
which  I  should  bo  afraid  to  encounter  in  the  very  outset, 
from  the  very  important  questions  raised  in  my  mind,  as 
to  the  correctness  of  those  rude  and  ignorant  outlines,  in 
truly  establishing  the  looks  and  character  of  a  people. 
Amongst  a  people  so  ignorant  and  so  little  advanced  in  the 
arts  as  the  ancient  Mexicans  were,  frorrf  whose  tracings 
those  very  numerous  drawings  are  copied,  I  think  it  would 
be  assuming  a  great  deal  too  much  for  satisfactory  argu- 
ment, to  claim  that  such  records  were  to  set  up  to  the 
world  the  looks  and  character  of  a  people  who  have  sunk 
into  oblivion,  when  the  heads  of  horses  and  other  animals, 
drawn  by  the  same  hands,  are  so  rude  and  so  much  out  of 
drawing  as  scarcely  to  be  distinguished,  one  from  the  other. 
I  feel  as  if  such  rude  outlines  should  be  received  witli 
great  caution  and  distrust,  in  establishing  the  character 
of  a  people. 

Since  writing  the  above  I  have  passed  through  many 
vicissitudes,  and  witnessed  many  curious  scenes  worthy  of 


NORTH  AMERICJ^N  INDIANS. 


308 


relating,  some  of  which  I  will  scri'  iLle  now,  and  leave  the 
rest  for  a  more  leisure  occasion.  I  have  witnessed  many 
of  the  valued  games  and  amusements  of  this  tribe,  and 
made  sketches  of  them ;  and  also  have  painted  a  number  of 
portraits  of  distinguished  warriors  and  braves  which  will 
be  found  in  my  collection. 

I  have  just  been  exceedingly  amused  with  a  formal  and 
grave  meeting  which  was  called  around  me,  formed  by  a 
number  of  young  men,  and  even  chiefs  and  doctors  of  the 
tribe  who  have  heard  that  I  was  great  medicine,  and  a 
great  chief,  took  it  upon  themselves  to  suppose  that  I 
might  (or  perhaps  must)  be  a  man  of  influence  amongst  the 
"  pale  faces, "  and  capable  of  rendering  them  some  relief 
in  a  case  of  very  great  grievance,  under  which  they  repre- 
sented that  they  were  suffering.  Several  most  profound 
speeches  were  made  to  me,  setting  forth  these  grievances, 
somewhat  in  the  following  manner: — They  represented, 
that  about  five  or  six  years  ago  an  unknown,  small  animal 
—not  far  differing  in  size  from  a  ground  squirrel,  but  with 
a  long,  round  tail,  shewed  himself  slily  about  one  of  the 
chiefs  wigwams,  peeping  out  from  under  the  pots  and 
kettles,  and  other  such  things ;  which  they  looked  upon  as 
great  medicine — and  no  one  dared  to  kill  it ;  but  hundreds 
came  to  watch  and  look  at  it.  On  one  of  these  occasions, 
one  of  the  spectators  saw  this  strange  animal  catching  and 
devouring  a  small  "  deer  mouse, "  of  which  little  and  very 
destructive  animals  their  lodges  contained  many.  It  was 
then  at  once  determined  that  this  had  been  an  act  of  the 
Great  Spirit,  as  a  means  of  putting  a  stop  to  the  spolia- 
tions committeil  by  these  little  sappers,  who  where  cutting 
their  clothing,  and  other  manufactures  to  pieces  in  a 
lamentable  manner.  Councils  had  been  called  and  solemn 
decrees  issued  for  the  countenance  and  protection  of  thia 
welcome  visitor  and  its  progeny,  which  were  soon  ascer- 
tained to  be  rapidly  increasing,  and  calculating  soon  to  rid 
them  of  these  thousands  of  little  depredators.  It  was  soon, 
however,  learned  from  one  of  the  Fur  Traders,  that  this 


''\} 


m 


i        ' 


^.y,,i  ;'i|.^;  "i™. 


804 


LETTERS  AXD  NOTES  ON  THE 


distinguished  object  of  their  superstition  (which  my  man 
Ba'tiste  familiarly  calls  ^^ Monsr.  Bata.pon")  had,  a  short 
time  before,  landed  himself  from  one  of  their  keel  boats 
which  had  ascended  the  Missouri  river  for  the  distance  of 
eighteen  hundred  miles ;  and  had  taken  up  its  residence 
without  introduction  or  invitation,  in  one  of  their  earth- 
covered  wigwams. 

This  information,  for  a  while,  curtailed  the  extraordinary 
respect  they  had  for  some  time  been  paying  to  it ;  but  its 
continual  war  upon  these  little  mice,  which  it  was  using  for 
its  food,  in  the  absence  of  all  other  nutriment,  continued  to 
command  their  respect,  in  spite  of  the  manner  in  which  it 
had  been  introduced;  being  unwlling  to  believe  that  it 
had  come  from  that  source,  even,  without  the  agency  in 
some  way  of  the  Great  Spirit. 

Having  been  thus  introduced  and  nurtured,  and  their 
numbers  having  been  so  wonderfully  increased  in  the  few 
last  years,  that  every  wigwam  was  infested  with  them, — 
that  their  caches,  where  they  bury  their  corn  and  other 
provisions,  were  robbed  and  sacked ;  and  the  very  pave- 
ments under  their  wigwams  were  so  vaulted  and  sapped, 
that  they  were  actually  fulling  to  the  ground ;  they  were 
now  looked  upon  as  a  most  disastrous  nuisance,  and  a 
jiublic  calamity,  to  whicu  it  was  the  object  of  this  meeting 
to  call  my  attention,  evidently  in  hopes  that  I  might  he 
able,  to  designate  some  successful  mode  of  relieving  tliein 
from  this  real  misfortune.  I  got  rid  of  them  at  last,  bv 
assuring  them  of  my  deep  regret  for  their  situation,  wliich 
was,  to  be  sure,  a  very  unpleasant  one;  and  told  them,  that 
there  was  really  a  great  deal  of  medicine  in  the  thing,  and 
that  I  should  therefore  be  quite  unwilling  to  have  anythin"- 
to  do  with  it.  Ba'tiste  and  Bogard,  who  are  yet  my  daily 
and  almost  hourly  companions,  took  to  themselves  a  great 
deal  of  fun  and  anitisemcnt  at  the  end  of  this  interview,  by 
suggesting  many  remedies  for  the  evil,  and  enjoying  many 
hearty  laughs ;  after  which,  Ba'tiste,  Bogard  and  I,  took 
our  hats;  and  I  took  my  sketch-book  in  hand,  and  we 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS, 


805 


started  on  a  visit  to  the  upper  town  of  tlie  Minatarees,  whioli 
is  half  a  mile  or  more  distant,  and  on  the  other  bank  of  the 
Knife  Biver,  which  we  crossed  in  the  following  manner : — 
The  old  chief,  having  learned  that  we  were  to  cross  the 
river,  gave  direction  to,  one  of  the  women  of  his  numerous 
household,  who  took  upon  her  head  a  skin-canoe  (more 
familiarly  called  in  this  country,  a  bull-boat),  made  in  the 
form  of  a  large  tub,  of  a  buffalo's  skin,  stretched  on  a  frame 
of  willow  boughs,  which  she  carried  to  the  water's  edge ; 
and  placing  it  in  the  water,  made  signs  for  us  three  to  get 
into  it.  When  we  were  in,  and  scatal  flat  on  its  bottom, 
with  scarce  room  in  any  way  to  adjust  our  legs  and  our 
feet  (as  we  sat  necessarily  facing  each  other),  she  stepped 
before  the  boat,  and  pulling  it  along,  waded  towards  the 
deeper  water,  with  her  back  towards  us,  carefully  with  the 
other  hand  attending  to  her  dress,  which  seemed  to  be  but 
a  light  slip,  and  floating  upon  the  surface  until  the  water 
was  above  her  waist,  when  it  was  instantly  turned  off,  over 
her  head,  and  thrown  ashore;  and  she  boldly  plunged 
forward,  swimming  and  drawing  the  boat  with  one  hand, 
which  she  did  with  apparent  ease.  In  this  manner  we 
were  conveyed  to  the  middle  of  the  stream,  where  we  were 
soon  surrounded  by  a  dozen  or  more  beautiful  girls,  from 
twelve  to  fifteen  and  eighteen  years  of  age,  who  were  at 
that  time  bathing  on  the  opposite  shore. 

They  all  swam  in  a  bold  and  graceful  manner,  and  as 
confidently  as  so  many  otters  or  beavers;  and  gathering 
around  us,  with  their  long  black  hair  floating  about  on  the 
water,  whilst  their  faces  were  glowing  with  jokes  and  fun, 
which  they  wore  cracking  about  us,  and  which  we  could 
not  understand. 

In  the  midst  of  this  delightful  little  aquatic  group,  we 
three  sat  in  our  little  skin-bound  tub  (like  the  "three  wise 
men  of  Gotham,  who  went  to  sea  in -a  bowl,"  &c.),  floating 
uk)iig  down  the  current,  losing  sight,  and  all  thoughts,  of 
the  shore,  which  was  equi-distant  from  us  on  either  side; 
whilst  we  were  amusing  ourselves  with  the  playfulness  of 

•  20 


806 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES   ON  THE 


these  dear  littlo  creatures  avIio  were  floating  about  under 
the  clear  blue  water,  catching  their  hands  on  to  the  sides  of 
our  boat ;  occasionally  raising  one-half  of  their  bodies  out 
of  the  water,  and  sinking  again,  like  so  many  mermaids. 

In  the  midst  of  this  bewildering  and  tantalizing  enter- 
tainment, in  which  poor  Ba'tiste  and  Bogard,  as  well  as 
myself,  were  all  taking  infinite  pleasure,  and  which  we 
supposed  was  all  intended  for  our  especial  amusement;  wo 
found  ourselves  suddenly  in  the  delightful  dilemma  of 
floating  down  the  current  in  the  middle  of  the  river-  and 
of  being  turned  round  and  round  to  the  excessive  amuse- 
■  ment  of  the  villagers,  who  were  laughing  at  us  from  the 
shore,  as  well  as  these  little  tryos,  whose  delicate  hands 
were  besetting  our  tub  on  all  sides;  and  for  an  escape  from 
whom,  or  for  fending  off,  wo  had  neither  an  oar,  or  any 
thing  else,  that  we  could  wield  in  self-defence^  or  self- 
preservation.  In  this  awkward  predicament,  our  feelings 
of  excessive  admiration  were  i.nmediately  changed,  to  those 
of  exceeding  vexation,  as  we  now  learned  that  they  had 
peremptorily  discharged  from  her  occupation  our  iixir  con- 
ductress, who  had  undertaken  to  ferry  us  safely  across  the 
river;  and  had  also  very  ingeniously  laid  their  plans,  of 
which  we  had  been  ignorant  until  the  present  moment,  to 
extort  from  us  in  this  way,  some  little  evidences  of  our 
liberality,  which,  in  fact,  it  was  impossible  to  refuse  them 
after  so  liberal  and  bewitching  an  exhibition  on  their  part 
as  well  as  from  the  imperative  obligation  which  the 
awkvrardness  of  our  .situation  had  laid  us  umler.  I  had 
some  awls  in  my  pockets,  which  I  presented  to  them,  and 
also  a  few  strings  of  beautiful  beads,  which  I  placed  over 
their  (iclioate  necks  as  they  raised  them  out  of  the  water  by 
the  side  of  our  boat;  after  which  ihey  all  joined  in  con- 
ducting our  craft  to  the  shore,  by  swimming  by  the  sides 
of,  and  behind  it,  pushin.^  it  along  in  the  dire<^tion  where 
they  designed  to  land  it,  until  the  water  became  so  shallo*, 
tliat  their  feet  were  uj)on  the  bottom,  when  they  waded 
along  with  great  coyness,  dragging  us  towards  the  shore, 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


80T 


as  long  as  their  bodies,  in  a  crouching  position,  could 
possibly  be  half  concealed  under  the  water,  when  they 
gave  our  boat  the  last  push  for  the  shore,  and  raising  a 
loud  and  exulting  laugh,  plunged  back  again  into  the 
river;  leaving  us  the  only  alternative  of  sitting  still  where 
Ave  were,  or  of  stepping  out  into  the  water  at  half  leg  deep, 
and  of  wading  to  the  shore,  which  we  at  once  did,  and  soon 
escaped  from  the  view  of  our  little  tormenters,  and  the 
numerous  lookers-on,  on  our  way  to  the  upper  village, 
which  I  have  before  mentioned. 

Hero  I  was  very  politely  treated  by  the  Yellmv  Moccasin., 
quite  an  old  man,  and  who  seemed  to  be  chief  of  this  band 
or  family,  constituting  their  little  community  of  thirty  or 
forty  lodges,  averaging,  perhaps,  twenty  persons  to  each. 
I  was  feasted  in  this  man's  lodge — and  afterwards  invited 
to  accompany  him  and  several  others  to  a  beautiful  prairie, 
a  mile  or  so  above  the  village,  where  the  young  men  and 
young  women  of  this  town,  and  many  from  the  village 
below,  had  assembled  for  their  amusements ;  the  chief  of 
which  seemed  to  be  that  of  racing  their  horses.  In  the 
midst  of  these  scenes,  after  I  had  been  for  some  time  a 
looker-on,  and  had  felt  some  considerable  degree  of  sym- 
pathy for  a  fine-looking  young  fellow,  whose  horse  had 
been  twice  beaten  on  the  course,  and  whoso  losses  had  been 
considerable;  for  which,  his  sister,  a  very  modest  and 
pretty  girl,  was  most  piteously  howling  and  crying.  I 
selected  and  brought  forward  an  ordinary-looking  pony, 
tliat  was  evidently  too  fat  and  sleek  to  run  agumst  his  fine- 
limbed  little  horse  that  had  disappointed  his  high  hopes ; 
and  I  began  to  comment  extravagantly  upon  its  muscle, 
&c.,  when  I  discovered  him  evidently  cheering  up  with  the 
hope  of  getting  me  and  my  pony  on  to  the  turf  with  him ; 
for  which  he  soon  made  me  a  proposition ;  and  I,  having 
lauded  the  limbs  of  my  little  nag  too  much  to  "back  out," 
agreed  to  run  a  short  race  with  him  of  half  a  mile,  for  three 
yards  of  scarlet  cloth,  a  knife,  and  half  a  dozen  strings  of 
beads,  which  I  was  willing  to  stake  against  a  handsome 


i«  I 


v^ 


hi 


808 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES   OV  THE 


pair  of  loggings,  which  he  was  wearing  at  the  time.  The 
greatest  imaginable  excitement  was  now  raised  amongst 
the  crowd  by  this  arrangement;  to  see  a  white  man  pre- 
paring to  run  with  tin  Indian  jockey,  and  that  with  a  scrub 
of  a  pony,  in  whose  powers  of  running  no  Indian  liad  the 
least  confidence.  Yet,  there  was  no  one  in  the  crowd,  who 
dared  to  take  up  the  several  other  little  bets  I  was  willinf^ 
to  tender  (merely  for  their  amusement,  and  for  their  final 
exultation ;)  owing,  undoubtedly,  to  the  bold  and  confident 
manner  in  which  I  had  ventured  on  the  merits  of  this  little 
horse,  which  the  tribe  had  all  overlooked;  and  needs  must 
have  some  medicine  about  it. 

So  far  was  this  panic  carried,  that  even  my  champion 
was  ready  to  withdraw ;  but  hia  friends  encouraged  him  at 
length,  and  we  galloped  our  horses  off  to  the  other  end  of 
the  course,  where  we  were  to  start ;  and  where  we  were 
accompanied  by  a  number  of  horsemen,  who  were  to 
witness  the  "  set  off."  Some  considerable  delay  here  took 
place,  from  a  condition,  which  was  then  named  to  mo,  and 
which  I  had  not  observed  before,  that  in  all  the  races  of 
this  day,  every  riiler  was  to  run  entirely  denuded,  and  ride 
a  naked  horse!  Here  I  was  completely  balked,  and  having 
no  one  by  me  to  interpret  a  word,  I  was  quite  at  a  loss  to 
decide  what  was  best  to  do.  I  found,  however,  that  remon- 
strance  was  of  little  avail;  and  as  I  had  volunteered  in  tliis 
thing  to  gratify  and  flatter  them,  I  thought  it  best  not 
positively  to  disjdease  them  in  this;  so  I  laid  off  my 
clothes,  and  straddled  the  naked  back  of  my  round  and 
glossy  little  pony,  by  the  side  of  my  competitor,  wlio  was 
also  mounted  and  stripped  to  the  skin,  and  panting  with  a 
restless  anxiety  for  the  start. 

Reader!  did  you  ever  imagine  that  in  the  middle  of  a 
man's  h/>:  there  could  be  a  thought  or  a  feeling  so  7iew  to 
him,  as  to  throw  him  instantly  back  to  infancy ;  with  a 
new  world  and  a  new  genius  before  him — started  afresh, 
to  navigate  and  l^reatho  the  elements  of  naked  and  un- 
tasted  liberty,  which  clothe  him  in  their  cool  and  silken 


•'•*i<-it" 


NOIITU   AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


809 


robes  that  float  about  him  ;  and  wafting  their  life-inspiring 
folds  to  his  inmost  lungs  ?  If  your  never  have  boon 
inspired  with  such  a  feeling,  and  have  been  in  the  habit 
of  believing  that  you  have  thought  of,  and  imagined  a  little 
of  every  thing,  try  for  a  moment,  to  disrobe  your  mind 
and  your  body,  and  help  me  through  feelings  to  which  I 
cannot  give  utterance.  Imagine  yourselves  as  I  was,  with 
my  trembling  little  horse  underneath  me,  and  the  cool 
atmosphere  that  was  floating  about,  and  ready,  more  closely 
and  familiarly  to  embrace  me,  as  it  did,  at  the  next 
moment,  when  we  "  were  ofl',"  and  struggling  for  the  goal 
and  the  prize. 

Though  ray  little  Pegasus  seemed  to  dart  through  the 
clouds,  and  I  to  be  wafted  on  the  wings  of  Mercury,  yet 
my  red  adversary  was  leaving  me  too  far  behind  for  further 
competition ;  and  I  wheeled  to  the  left,  making  a  circuit 
on  the  prairie,  and  came  in  at  the  starting  point,  much  to 
the  satisfaction  and  exultation  of  the  jockeys  ;  but  greatly 
to  the  murmuring  disappointment  of  the  women  and 
children,  who  had  assembled  in  a  dense  throng  to  witness 
the  "  coming  out"  of  the  "  white  medicine-man."  I  clothed 
myself  instantly,  and  came  back,  acknowledging  my  defeat, 
and  the  superior  skill  of  my  competitor,  as  well  as  the 
wonderful  muscle  of  his  little  charger,  which  pleased  him 
much;  ard  his  sister's  lamentations  were  soon  turned  to 
joy,  by  the  receipt  of  a  beautiful  scarlet  robe,  and  a  pro- 
fusion of  vari-colored  beads,  which  were  speedily  paraded 
oil  her  copper-colored  neck. 

After  I  had  seen  enough  of  these  amusements,  I  suc- 
ceeded with  some  difficulty,  in  pulling  Ba'tiste  and  Bogard 
from  amongst  the  groups  of  women  and  girls,  where  they 
seemed  to  be  successfully  ingratiating  themselves;  and 
we  trudged  back  to  the  little  village  of  earth-covered 
lodges,  which  were  hemmed  in,  and  almost  obscured  from 
the  eye,  by  the  fields  of  corn  and  luxuriant  growth  of  wild 
suu-flowers,  and  other  vegetable  productions  of  the  soil, 
whose  spontaneous  growth  had  reared  their  heads  in  such 


m:h 


rfflii 


810 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


profusion,  as  to  appear  all  but  like  a  donso  and  formidable 
forest. 

We  loitered  about  tliis  little  village  awhile,  looking  into 
most  of  its  lodges,  and  traeing  its  winding  avenues,  after 
which  we  recrossed  the  river  and  wended  our  way  buck 
again  to  head-quarters,  from  whence  we  started  in  tlie 
morning,  and  where  I  am  now  writing.  This  day's  ramble 
showed  to  us  all  the  inhabitants  of  this  little  tribe,  exeept 
a  portion  of  their  warriors  who  are  out  on  a  war  excursiou 
against  the  Riccarecs;  and  I  have  been  exceedingly 
pleased  with  their  general  behaviour  and  looks,  as  well  as 
with  their  numerous  games  and  amusements,  in  many  of 
which  I  have  given  them  great  pleasure  by  taking  a  part. 

The  Minatarecs,  as  I  have  before  said,  are  a  bold,  darinf 
and  warlike  tribe;  quite  diflercnt  in  these  respects  from 
tlieir  neighbors  the  Mandans,  carrying  war  continually  in 
their  enemies'  country,  thereby  exposing  their  lives  and 
diminishing  the  number  of  their  warriors  to  that  dcreo 
that  I  find  two  or  three  women  to  a  man,  through  the 
tribe.  They  are  bold  and  fearless  in  the  cliasc  nlso,  and  in 
their  eager  pursuits  of  the  bison,  or  buffaloes,  their  feats 
are  such  as  to  excite  tlic  astonishment  and  admiration  of 
all  who  behold  them.  Of  these  scenes  I  have  witnessed 
many  since  I  came  into  tliis  country,  and  amongst  them 
all,  nothing  have  I  seen  to  compare  with  one  to  which  I 
was  an  eye-witness  a  few  mornings  since,  and  well  worthy 
of  being  described. 

The  Minatarees,  as  well  as  the  Mandans,  had  eulTei'ed  for 
some  months  past  for  want  of  meat,  and  had  indulged  in 
the  most  alarming  fears,  that  the  lierds  ot  buffaloes  were 
emigrating  so  fur  off  from  them,  that  there  was  great 
danger  of  their  actual  stiirvation,  when  it  was  suddenly 
announced  through  the  village  one  morning  at  an  early 
hour,  that  a  herd  of  buffaloes  was  in  sight,  when  an 
hundred  or  more  young  men  mounted  tlieir  horses  with 
weapons  in  band  and  steered  their  course  to  the  prairies. 
The  chief  informed  me  that  one  of  his  horses  was  in  readi- 


J      " 


'■   ^'^-Aj,'. 


NORTH   AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


811 


neas  for  mo  at  tho  door  of  his  wigwam,  and  that  I  had 
better  go  and  see  the  curious  affair.  I  accepted  his  polite 
offer,  and  mounting  tho  steed,  galloped  off  with  the  huntora 
to  the  prairies,  where  we  soon  descried  at  a  distance,  a  fine 
herd  of  buffaloes,  grazing,  when  a  halt  and  a  council  were 
ordered,  and  the  mode  of  attack  was  agreed  upon.  I  had 
armed  myself  with  my  pencil  and  my  sketch-book  only, 
and  consequently  took  my  position  generally  in  the  rear, 
where  I  could  see  and  appreciate  every  manoeuvre. 

Tho  plan  of  attack,  which  in  this  country  is  familiarly 
called  a  ^^  surround,^^  was  explicitly  agreed  upon,  and  tho 
hunters  who  were  all  mounted  on  their  "  buffalo  horses" 
and  armed  with  bows  and  arrows  or  long  lances,  divided 
into  two  columns,  taking  opposite  directions,  and  drew 
tlicinselves  gradually  around  tho  herd  at  a  mile  or  more 
distance  from  them  ;  thus  forming  a  circle  of  horsemen  at 
equal  distances  apart,  who  gradually  closed  in  upon  tliem 
with  a  moderate  pace,  at  a  signal  given.  The  unsuspecting 
herd  at  length  "  got  tho  wind"  of  the  approaching  enemy 
and  lied  in  a  mass  in  the  greatest  confusion.  To  the  point 
where  they  were  aiming  to  cross  tho  line,  the  horsemen 
were  seen  at  full  speed,  gathering  and  forming  in  a  column, 
brandishing  their  weapons  and  yelling  in  the  most  frightful 
manner,  by  which  means  they  turned  the  black  and  rush- 
ing mass  which  moved  off  in  an  opposite  direction  where 
tlioy  were  again  met  and  foiled  in  a  similar  manner,  and 
wheeled  back  in  utter  confusion  ;  by  which  time  the  horse- 
men had  closed  iu  from  all  directions,  forming  a  continuous 
line  around  them,  whilst  the  poor  affrighted  animals  were 
eddying  about  in  a  crowded  and  confused  mass,  hooking 
and  climbing  upon  each  other ;  when  the  work  of  death 
commenced.  I  had  rode  up  in  the  rear  and  occupied  an 
elevated  position  at  a  few  rods  distance,  from  which  I 
could  (like  the  general  of  a  battle-field)  survey  from  my 
horse's  back,  the  nature  and  the  progress  of  the  grand 
nicled ;  but  (unlike  him)  without  tho  power  of  issuing  a 
command  or  in  any  way  directing  its  issue. 


?: 


r'ti 


•  !■■ 


Hi: 


^  I'iJ^i^ 


!J 


..Jn 


Win.)' 


312 


LETTERS   AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


In  this  grand  turmoil,  a  cloud  of  dust  was  soon  raised 
which  in  parts  obscured  the  throng  where  tlio  Imntorii 
were  gallo])ing  their  horses  around  and  driving  the 
whizzing  arrows  or  their  long  lances  to  the  hearts  of  these 
noble  animals;  which  in  many  instances,  becoming  infu. 
riated  with  deadly  wounds  in  their  sides,  erected  their 
shaggy  manes  over  their  blood-shot  eyes  and  furiously 
plunged  forwards  at  the  sides  of  their  assailants'  horses 
sometimes  goring  them  to  death  at  a  lunge,  and  i)uttiiiir 
their  dismounted  riders  to  flight  for  their  lives;  sometimes 
their  dense  crowd  was  opened,  and  the  blinded  horsemen 
too  intent  on  their  prty  amidst  the  cloud  of  dust,  were 
heuimcd  and  wedged  in  amidht  the  crowding  beasts,  over 
whose  backs  they  were  obliged  to  leap  for  security,  leavinir 
their  horses  to  the  fate  tliat  might  await  them  in  the 
results  of  this  wild  and  desperate  war.  Many  were  the 
bulls  that  turned  upon  their  asaailants  and  met  them  with 
desperate  resistance;  and  many  were  the  warriors  who 
were  dismounted,  and  saved  themselves  by  the  suj)erior 
muscles  of  their  legs;  some  who  were  closely  pursued  by 
the  bulls,  wheeled  suddenly  around  and  snatching  the  part 
of  a  buffalo  robe  from  around  their  waists,  threw  it  over 
the  horns  and  the  eyes  of  the  infuriated  beast,  and  dartin" 
by  its  side  drove  the  arrow  or  the  lance  to  its  heart, 
(^tilers  suddenly  dashed  off  upon  the  prairies  by  the  side  of 
the  iillVi;jlited  animals  which  had  escaped  from  the  throng, 
and  closely  escorting  them  for  a  few  rods,  brought  down 
their  hearts'  blood  in  streams,  and  their  huge  carcasses  upon 
the  green  and  enamelled  turf. 

In  this  way  this  grand  hunt  soon  resolved  itself  into  a 
rlesperatc  l)aitle ;  and  in  the  space  of  fifteen  minutes, 
resulted  in  the  total  destruction  of  the  whole  herd,  which 
in  oil  their  strength  and  fury  were  doomed,  like  every 
beast  and  living  thing  else,  to  full  before  the  destroying 
liands  of  mighty  man. 

I  had  sat  in  trembling  silence  upon  la  horse,  and  wit- 
nessed this  extraordinary  scene,  which  allowed  not  one  of 


NORTH  AMEUICAN   INDIAlfS. 


813 


those  animals  to  escape  out  of  my  sight.  Many  plunged  off 
upon  the  prairie  fur  u  distance,  but  were  overtaken  and 
killed;  and  although  1  could  not  distinctly  estimate  tho 
number  that  were  slain,  yd  I  am  sure  that  some  hundreds 
of  these  noble  animals  fell  in  this  grand  mcloo. 

The  scene  after  tho  battle  was  over  was  novel  and  curious 
in  the  extreme ;  the  hunters  were  moving  about  amongst 
tho  dead  and  dying  animals,  leading  their  horses  by  their 
halters,  and  claiming  their  victims  by  their  private  marks 
upon  their  arrows,  which  they  were  drawing  from  tho 
wounds  in  the  animals'  sides. 

Amongst  tho  poor  affrighted  creatures  that  had  occasion- 
ally dashed  through  tho  ranks  of  their  enemy,  and  sought 
safety  in  flight  upon  tho  prairie  (and  in  some  instances, 
had  undoubtedly  gained  it),  I  saw  them  stand  awhile, 
looking  back,  when  they  turned,  and,  as  if  bent  on  their 
own  destruction,  retraced  their  steps,  and  mingled  them- 
selves and  their  deaths  with  those  of  tho  dying  throng. 
Others  had  fled  to  a  distance  on  tho  prairies,  and  for  want 
of  company,  of  friends  or  of  foes,  had  stood  and  gazed  on 
till  the  battle-scene  was  over;  seemingly  taking  pains  to 
stay,  and  hold  their  lives  in  readiness  for  their  destroyers, 
until  the  general  destruction  was  over,  when  they  fell  easy 
victims  to  their  weapons — making  the  slaughter  complete. 

After  this  scene,  and  after  arrows  had  been  claimed  and 
recovered,  a  general  council  was  held,  when  all  hands  wero 
seated  on  the  ground,  and  a  few  pipes  smoked ;  after  which, 
all  mounted  their  horses  and  rode  back  to  tho  village. 

A  deputation  of  several  of  the  warriors  was  sent  to  tho 
chief,  who  explained  to  him  what  had  been  their  success ; 
and  the  same  intelligence  was  soon  comunicated  by  little 
sciuads  to  every  family  in  the  village ;  and  preparations 
were  at  once  made  for  securing  the  meat.  For  this  pur- 
pose, some  hundreds  of  women  and  children,  to  whose  lot 
fall  all  the  drudgeries  of  Indian  life,  started  out  upon  the 
trail,  which  led  them  to  the  battle-field,  wli  jro  they  ?.pent 
the  day  in  skinning  the  animals,  and  cutting  up  the  moat, 


'* 
ti 


-;| 


814 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES. 


■wliich  was  mostly  brouglit  into  the  villages  on  their  backs, 
as  they  tugged  and  sweated  under  their  enormous  antl 
cruel  loads. 

I  rode  out  to  see  this  curious  scene ;  and  I.regret  exceed- 
ingly that  I  kept  no  memorandum  of  it  in  my  sketch-book. 
Amidst  the  throng  of  women  and  children,  that  had  been 
assembled,  and  all  of  whom  seemed  busily  at  work,  were 
many  superannuated  and  disabled  nags,  which  they  had 
brought  out  to  a.ssist  in  carrying  in  the  meat ;  and  at  least 
one  thousand  semi-loup  dogs,  and  whelps,  whose  keen  ap. 
petites  and  sagacity  had  brought  them  out,  to  claim  their 
shares  of  this  abundant  and  sumptuous  supply. 

I  stayed  and  inspected  this  curious  group  for  an  hour  or 
more  during  which  time,  I  was  almost  continually  amused 
by  the  clamorous  contentions  that  arose,  and  generally 
ended,  in  desperate  combats ;  both  amongst  the  dogs  and 
women,  who  seemed  alike  tenacious  of  their  local  and 
recently  accjuired  rights;  and  disposed  to  settle  their 
claims  by  "  tooth  and  nail" — by  manual  and  brute  force. 

When  T  had  seen  enough  of  this  I  rode  to  the  top  of  a 
beautiful  prairie  bluft',  a  mile  or  two  from  the  scene,  where 
I  was  exceedingly  amused  by  overlooking  the  route  that 
laid  between  this  and  the  village,  which  was  over  the 
undulating  green  fields  for  several  miles,  that  laid  beneath 
me ;  over  which  there  seemed  a  continual  string  of  women 
dogs  and  horses,  for  the  rest  of  the  day,  passing  and 
repassing  as  they  were  busily  bearing  home  their  heavy 
burthens  to  the  village,  and  in  their  miniature  appearance 
which  the  distance  gave  them,  not  unlike  to  a  busy  com- 
munity of  ants  as  they  are  sometimes  seen,  sacking  and 
transporting  the  treasures  of  a  cupboard,  or  the  sweets  of  a 
Bugar-bowl. 


LETTER  No.  XXV. 

LITTLE  MANDAN  VILLAGE,  UPPER  MISSOURI 

In  speaking  of  the  Mandans,  in  a  former  Letter,  I  men- 
tioned that  they  were  living  in  two  villages,  which  are* 
about  two  miles  apart.  Of  their  principal  village  I  have 
given  a  minute  account,  which  precludes  the  necessity  of 
my  saying  much  of  their  smaller  town,  to  which  I  des- 
cended a  few  days  since,  from  the  Minatarees ;  and  where 
I  find  their  modes  and  customs,  precisely  the  same  as  I 
have  heretofore  described.  This  village  contains  sixty  or 
eighty  lodges,  built  in  the  same  manner  as  those  which  I 
have  already  mentioned,  and  I  have  just  learned  that  they 
have  been  keeping  the  annual  ceremony  here,  precisely 
in  the  same  manner  as  that  which  I  witnessed  in  the  lower 
or  larger  town,  and  have  explained. 

I  have  been  treated  with  the  same  hospitality  here  that 
was  extended  to  me  in  the  other  village ;  and  have  painted 
the  portraits  of  several  distinguished  persons,  which  has 

(315) 


"l4»-*  MW'i 


|lir_ 


816 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


astonished  and  pleased  them  very  much.  The  operation  of 
my  brush  always  gains  me  many  enthusiastic  friends 
wherever  I  go  amongst  these  wild  folks;  and  in  this 
village  I  have  been  unusually  honored  and  even  afflicted 
by  the  friendly  importunities  of  one  of  these  reverencing 
parasites,  who  (amongst  various  other  offices  of  hospitality 
and  kindness  which  he  has  been  bent  upon  extending  to 
me),  has  insisted  on,  and  for  several  nights  been  indulged 
in,  the  honor  as  he  would  term  it,  of  offering  his  body  for 
my  pillow,  which  /have  not  had  the  heart  to  reject,  and  of 
course  he  had  not  lacked  the  vanity  to  boast  of,  as  an  act 
of  signal  kindness  and  hospitality  on  his  part,  towards  a 
great  and  a  distinguished  stranger/ 

I  have  been  for  several  days  suffering  somewhat  with  an 
influenza,  which  has  induced  me  to  leave  my  bed,  on  the 
side  of  the  lodge,  and  sleep  on  the  floor,  wrapped  in  a 
buffalo  rube,  with  my  feet  to  the  fire  in  the  centre  of  the 
room,  to  which  place  the  genuine  politeness  of  my  constant 
and  watchful  friend  has  as  regularly  drawn  him,  where  his 
irresistible  importunities  have  brought  me,  night  after 
night,  to  the  only  alternative  of  using  his  bedaubed  and 
bear-greased  body  for  a  pillow. 

Being  unwilling  to  deny  the  poor  fellow  the  satisfaction 
he  seemed  to  be  drawing  from  this  singular  freak,  I  took 
some  pains  to  inquire  into  his  character ;  and  learned  that 
he  was  a  Riccaree  brave,  by  th(;  name  of  Pah-too-ca-ra  (he 
who  strikes),  who  is  here  with  several  others  of  his  tribe, 
on  a  friendly  visit  (though  in  a  hostile  village),  and  living 
as  they  are,  uni)rotectod,  except  by  the  mercy  of  their 
cucniies.  I  think  it  probable,  therefore,  that  he  is  ingeni- 
ously endeavoring  thus  to  ingratiate  himself  in  my 
affections,  and  consequently  to  insure  my  guardianship  and 
influence  for  his  protection.  Bo  this  as  it  may,  he  is 
rendering  mo  many  kind  services,  and  I  have  in  return 
traced  him  on  my  canvass  for  immortality. 

The  Riccaree  village,  is  beautifully  situated  on  the  west 
bank  of  the  river,  two  hundred  miles  below  the  Mandau.s ; 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


817 


and  built  very  much  in  the  same  manner ;  being  consti- 
tuted of  one  hundred  and  fifty  earth -covered  lodges,  which 
are  in  part  surrounded  by  an  imperfect  and  open  barrier 
of  piquets  set  firmly  in  the  ground,  and  of  ten  or  twelve 
feet  in  height. 

This  village  is  built  upon  an  open  prairie,  and  the  grace- 
fully undulating  hills  that  rise  in  the  distance  behind  it  are 
everywhere  covered  with  a  verdant  green  turf,  without  a 
tree  or  a  bush  any  where  to  be  seen.  The  view  was  taken 
fi'om  the  deck  of  the  steamer  when  I  was  on  my  way  up 
the  river ;  and  probably  it  was  well  that  I  took  it  then,  for 
so  hostile  and  deadly  are  the  feelings  of  these  people 
towards  the  pale  faces,  at  this  time,  that  it  may  be  deemed 
most  prudent  for  me  to  pass  them  on  my  way  down  the 
river,  without  stopping  to  make  them  a  visit.  They  cer- 
tainly are  harboring  the  most  resentful  feelings  at  this 
time  towards  the  Traders,  and  others  passing  on  the  river; 
and  no  doubt,  that  there  is  great  danger  of  the  lives  of  any 
white  men,  who  unluckily  fall  into  their  hands.  They 
have  recently  sworn  death  and  destruction  to  every  Avhite 
man,  who  comes  in  their  way  ;  and  there  is  no  doubt,  that 
they  are  ready  to  execute  their  threats. 

When  Lewis  and  Clark  first  visited  these  people  thirty 
years  since,  it  will  be  found  by  a  reference  to  their  history, 
that  the  Riccarecs  received  and  treated  them  with  great 
kindness  and  hospitality  ;  but  owing  to  the  system  of  trade, 
and  the  manner  in  which  it  has  been  conducted  in  this 
co'imtry,  they  have  been  inflicted  with  real  or  imaginary 
abuses,  of  which  they  are  themselves,  and  the  Fur  Traders, 
the  best  judges ;  and  for  which  they  are  now  harboring 
the  most  inveterate 


feelings  towards  the  whole  civilized 


race. 


The  Riccarecs  are  unquestionably  a  part  of  the  tribe  of 
Pawnees,  living  on  the  Platte  River,  some  hundreds  of 
miles  below  this,  inasmuch  as  their  language  is  nearly  or 
quite  the  same ;  and  their  personal  appearance  and  customs 
as  similar  as  could  be  reasonably   expected  amongst  a 


818 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


people  so  long  since  separated  from  their  parent  tribe  and 
continually  subjected  to  innovations  from  the  neighboring 
tribes  around  them ;  amongst  whom,  in  their  erratic  wan- 
derings in  search  of  a  locatior.,  they  have  been  jostled 
about  in  the  character,  alternately,  of  friends  and  of  foes. 

I  shall  resume  my  voyage  down  the  river  in  a  few  days 
in  my  canoe;  and  I  may,  perhaps,  stop  and  pay  these 
people  a  visit,  and  consequently,  be  able  to  say  more  of 
them  ;  or,  I  may  be  hauh'l  in,  to  the  shore,  and  my  boat 
plundered,  and  my  " scalp  danced"  as  they  have  dealt  quite 
recently  with  the  last  trader,  who  has  dared  for  several 
years  past,  to  continue  his  residence  ^vith  them,  after  they 
had  laid  fatal  hands  on  each  one  of  his  comrades  before 
him,  and  divided  and  shared  their  goods. 

Of  the  Mandans,  who  are  about  me  in  this  little  villat^e 
I  need  say  nothing,  except  that  they  are  in  every  respect 
the  s.ime  as  those  I  have  described  in  the  lower  villafro— 
and  in  fact,  I  believe  this  little  town  is  rather  a  summer 
residence  for  a  few  of  the  noted  families,  than  anythino-  else  • 
as  T  am  told  that  none  of  their  wigwams  are  tenanted 
through  the  winter.  I  shall  leave  them  in  the  morninT 
and  take  up  my  residence  a  few  days  longer  with  my 
hospitable  friends  Mr.  Kipp,  ^fah-to-toh-pa,  &c.,  in  the 
large  village ;  and  then  with  my  canvass  and  easel,  and 
paint-pots  in  my  canoe  ;  with  Ba'tiste  and  Bogard  to  paddlo 
and  my  own  oar  to  steer,  wend  my  way  again  oa  the 
mighty  Missouri  toward  my  native  land,  bidding  ever- 
lasting farewell  to  the  kind  and  hospitable  Mandans. 

In  taking  this  final  leave  of  them,  which  will  be  done 
with  some  decided  feelings  of  regret,  and  in  receding  from 
their  country,  I  shall  look  back  and  reflect  upon  them  and 
their  curious  and  peculiar  modes  with  no  tunall  degree  of 
pleasure,  as  well  as  surprise;  inasmuch  as  their  hospitality 
and  friendly  treatment  have  fully  corroborated  my  fixed 
belief  that  the  North  American  Indian  in  his  primitive 
state  is  a  high-minded,  hospitable  and  honorable  being — 
and   their  singular  and  peculiar  customs  have  raised  an 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


819 


irresistible  belief  in  my  mind  that  they  have  had  a  different 
origin,  or  are  of  a  different  compound  of  character  from 
any  other  tribe  that  I  have  yet  seen,  or  that  can  be 
probably  seen  in  North  America. 

In  coming  to  such  a  conclusion  as  this,  the  mind  is  at 
once  filled  with  a  flood  of  inquiries  as  to  the  source  from 
which  they  have  sprung,  and  eagerly  seeking  for  the 
evidence  which  is  to  lead  it  to  the  most  probable  and  cor- 
rect conclusion.  Amongst  these  evidences  of  which  there 
are  many,  and  forcible  ones  to  be  met  with  amongst  these 
people,  and  many  of  which  I  have  named  in  my  former 
epistles,  the  most  striking  are  those  which  go,  T  think, 
decidedly  to  suggest  the  existence  of  looks  and  of  customs 
amongst  them,  bearing  incontestible  proofs  of  an  amalgam 
of  civilized  and  savage;  and  that  in  the  absence  of  all 
proof  of  any  recent  proximity  of  a  civilized  stock  that  could 
in  any  way  have  been  engrafted  upon  them. 

These  facts  then,  with  the  host  of  their  peculiarities 
which  stare  a  traveller  in  the  face,  lead  the  mind  back  in 
search  of  some  more  remote  and  rational  cause  for  such 
striking  singularities ;  and  in  this  dilemma,  I  have  been 
almost  disposed  (not  to  advance  it  as  a  theory  but)    to 
enquire  whether  here  may  not  be  found,  yet  existing,  the 
remains  of  the  Welsh  colony — the  followers  of  Madoc  ;  who 
history  tells  us,  if  I  recollect  right,  started  with  ten  ships,  to 
colonize  a  country  which  he  had  discovered  in  the  Western 
Ocean ;  whose  expedition  I  think  has  been  pretty  clearly 
traced   to  the   mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  or  the  coast  of 
Florida,  and  whose  fate  further  than  this  seems  sealed  in 
unsearchable  mystery. 

I  am  travelling  in  this  country  as  I  have  before  said,  not 
to  advance  or  to  prove  theories,  but  to  see  all  I  am  able  to 
see,  and  to  tell  it  in  the  simplest  and  most  intelligible 
manner  I  can  to  the  world,  for  their  own  conclusions,  or 
for  theories  I  may  feel  disposed  to  advance,  and  be  better 
able  to  defend  after  I  got  out  of  this  singular  country ; 
where  all  the  powers  of  one's  faculties  are  required,  and 


IHIIlil 


N»  +1 


■'■(1 


ill 


1 
' 

w 

\ 

Hi 

Wi 

m 

B 

V 

HHUit:' 

V 

A 

T 

HUT 

B  ' 

820 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


much  better  employed  I  consider,  in  helping  him  &lon<r 
and  in  gathering  materials,  than  in  stopping  to  draw  too 
nice  and  delicate  conclusions  by  the  way. 

If  my  indefinite  recollections  of  the  fate  of  that  colony 
however,  as  recorded  in  history  be  correct,  I  see  no  harm 
in  suggesting  the  inquiry,  whether  they  did  not  sail  up  the 
!^[ississippi  river  in  their  ten  ships,  or  such  number  of  them 
as  might  have  arrived  safe  in  its  mouth ;  and  havintr 
advanced  up  the  Ohio  from  its  junction,  (as  they  naturally 
would,  it  being  the  widest  and  most  gentle  current)  to  a 
rich  and  fcr'ile  country,  planted  themselves  as  agri- 
culturalists on  its  rich  banks,  where  they  lived  and 
flourished,  and  increased  in  numbers,  until  they  were 
rttacked,  and  at  last  besieged  by  the  numerous  hordes  of 
s, wages  who  were  jealous  of  their  growing  condition ;  and 
u,s  a  protection  against  their  assaults,  built  those  numerous 
civilized  fortifications,  the  ruins  of  which  are  now  to  lo 
seen  on  the  Ohio  and  the  Muskingum,  in  which  they  were 
at  last  all  destroyed,  except  some  ftw  families  who  had 
intermarried  with  the  Indians,  and  whose  offspring,  being 
half-breeds,  were  in  such  a  manner  allied  to  them  that 
their  lives  were  spared;  and  forming  themselves  into  a 
small  and  separate  community,  took  up  their  residence  on 
the  banks  of  the  Missouri ;  on  which,  for  the  want  of  a 
permanent  location,  being  on  the  lands  of  their  more 
powerful  enemies,  were  obliged  repeatedly  to  remove ;  and 
continuing  their  course  up  the  river,  have  in  time  migrated 
to  the  place  where  they  are  now  living,  and  consequently 
found  with  the  numerous  and  most  unaccountable  pecu- 
liarities of  which  I  have  before  spoken,  so  inconsonant 
with  the  general  character  of  the  North  American  Indians; 
with  complexions  of  every  shade;  with  hair  of  all  the 
colours  in  civilized  society,  and  many  with  hazel,  with 
grey,  and  with  blue  eyes. 

The  above  is  a  suggestion  of  a  moment;  and  I  wish  the 
reader  to  bear  it  in  mind,  that  if  I  ever  advance  such  as  a 
theory^  it  will  be  after  I  have  collected  other  proofs,  which 


NORTH  AMERICAN  IXDIANS. 


821 


I  shall  take  great  pains  to  do ;  after  I  have  taken  a  vocabu- 
lary of  their  language,  and  also  in  my  transit  down  the 
river  in  my  canoe,  I  may  be  able  from  my  own  exami- 
nations of  the  ground,  to  ascertain  whether  the  shores  of 
the  Missouri  bear  evidences  of  their  former  locations ;  or 
whether  amongst  the  tribes  who  inhabit  the  country  below, 
there  remain  any  satisfactory  traditions  of  their  residences 
in,  and  transit  through  their  countries. 

I  close  here  my  book  (and  probably  for  some  time,  my 
remarks),  on  the  friendly  and  hospitable  Mandans. 

Note — Several  years  having  elapsed  since  the  above  account  of  the 
Mandans  was  written,  I  open  the  book  to  convey  to  the  reader  the 
melancholy  intelligence  of  the  destruction  of  this  interesting  tribe, 
which  happened  a  short  time  after  I  left  their  country ;  and  the  manner 
and  causes  of  their  misfortune  I  have  explained  in  the  Appendix  to  the 
Second  Volume  of  this  Work ;  as  well  as  some  further  considerations 
of  the  subject  just  above-named,  relative  to  their  early  history,  and  the 
probable  fate  of  the  followers  '  Madoe,  to  which  I  respectfully  refer 
the  reader  before  he  goes  ia>«..?  in  the  body  of  the  Work.  See 
Appendix  A. 


tl 


'I't 


i:": 


LETTER  No.  XXVI. 
MOUTH  OF  TETOX  RIVER,  UPPER  MISSOURI 

Since  writing  tlie  above  Letter  I  have  descended  the 
Missouri,  a  distance  of  six  or  seven  hundred  miles,  in  my 
little  bark,  with  Ba'tiste  and  Bogard,  my  old  "  ComjMgn&ns 
du  voijage"  and  have  much  to  .say  of  what  we  tluee  did  and 
what  we  saw  on  our  way,  which  will  be  given  anon. 

I  am  now  in  the  heart  of  the  country  belonging  to  the 
numerous  tribe  of  the  Sioux  or  Dahcotas,  and  have  Indian 
faces  and  Indian  customs  in  abundance  around  ine.  This 
tribe  is  one  of  the  most  numerous  in  North  America,  and 
also  one  of  the  most  vigorous  and  warlil<e  tribes  to  be 
found,  numbering  some  forty  or  fifty  thousand,  and  able 
undoubtedly  to  muster,  if  the  tribe  could  be  moved  simul- 
(322J 


N0RT:I   AAIEKICAN  INI  lANS. 


323 


tancmsly,  at  least  eight  or  ten  tlious"  •.  \/arriors,  well 
mounted  and  well  armed.  This  tribe  take  vast  numbers  of 
tlie  wild  horses  on  the  plains  towards  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
and  many  of  them  have  been  supplied  with  guns ;  but  the 
greater  part  of  them  hunt  with  their  bows  and  arrows  and 
long  lances,  killing  their  game  from  their  horses'  backs 
while  at  full  speed. 

The  name  Sioux  (pronounced  see-oo)  by  which  they  are 
familiarly  called,  is  one  that  has  been  given  to  them  by 
the  French  traders,  the  meaning  of  which  I  never  have 
learned;  their  own  name  being,  in  their  language,  Dah- 
co-ta.  The  personal  appearance  of  these  people  is  very 
fine  and  prepossessing,  their  persons  tall  and  straight,  and 
their  movements  elastic  and  graceful.  Their  stature  is 
considerably  above  that  of  the  Mandans  and  Eiccarees,  or 
Blackfeet ;  but  about  equal  to  that  of  the  Crows,  Assinne- 
boins  and  Minatarees,  furnishing  at  least  one  half  of  their 
warriors  of  six  feet  or  more  in  height. 

I  am  here  living  with,  and  enjoying  the  hospitality  of  a 
gentleman  by  the  name  of  Laidlaw,  a  Scotchman,  who  is 
attached  to  the  American  Fur  Company,  and  who,  in 
company  with  Mr.  M'Kenzie  (of  whom  I  have  before 
spoken)  and  Lamont,  has  the  whole  agency  of  the  Fur 
Company's  transactions  in  the  regions  of  the  Upper  Missouri 
and  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

This  gentleman  has  a  finely-built  Fort  here,  of  two  or 
tluee  hundred  feet  square,  enclosing  eight  or  ten  of  their 
factories,  houses  and  stores,  in  the  midst  of  which  he 
occupies  spacious  and  comfortable  apartments,  which  are 
well  supplied  with  the  comforts  and  luxuries  of  life  and 
neatly  and  respectably  conducted  by  a  fine  looking, 
modest,  and  dignified  Sioux  woman,  the  kind  and  affec- 
tionate mother  of  his  little  flock  of  pretty  and  interesting 
children. 

This  Fort  is  undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  important  and 
productive  of  the  American  Fur  Company's  posts,  being 
in  the  centie  of  the  great  Sioux  country,  drawing  from  all 


5f 


P^ 


"»      i. 


824 


LETTERS  AND  N0TE3   ON  THE 


quarters  an  iinuiciiso  and  almost  incredible  number  of 
buftalo  robes,  which  are  carried  to  the  New  York  aad 
other  Eastern  markets,  and  sold  at  a  great  profit.  This 
post  is  thirteen  hundred  miles  above  St.  Loui.s,  on  the 
west  bank  of  the  Missouri,  on  a  beautiful  plain  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Teton  river  which  empties  into  the  Mi.ssouri 
from  the  West,  and  the  Fort  has  received  the  name  of 
Fort  Pierre,  in  compliment  to  Monsr.  Pierre  Chouteau 
who  is  one  of  the  partners  in  the  Fur  Company,  rowiding 
in  St.  Louis ;  and  to  whose  politeness  I  am  indebted,  as  I 
have  before  mentioned,  for  my  passage  in  the  Company's 
steamer,  on  her  first  voyage  to  tlio  Yellow  Stone;  and 
whose  urbane  and  gentlemanly  society,  I  have  before  said 
I  had  during  my  passage, 

The  country  about  this  Fort  is  ahnost  entirely  prairie 
producing  along  tho  banks  of  the  river  and  streams  only, 
slight  skirtings  of  timber.  No  site  could  have  been 
selected  more  pleasing  or  more  advantageous  than  this- 
the  Fort  is  in  the  centre  of  one  of  the  Missouri's  most 
beautiful  plains,  and  hemmed  in  by  a  series  of  gracefully 
undulating,  grass-covered  hills,  on  all  sides ;  rising  like  a 
series  of  terraces,  to  the  summit  level  of  the  prairies,  some 
three  or  four  hundred  feet  in  elevation,  which  then  stretches 
ofl'  in  an  apparently  boundless  ocean  of  gracefully  swelling 
waves  and  iields  of  green.  On  my  way  up  the  river  I 
made  a  painting  of  this  lovely  spot,  taken  from  the  summit 
of  the  bluft's,  a  mile  or  two  distant,  showing  an  encamp, 
ment  of  Siuux,  of  six  hundred  tents  or  skin  lodges,  around 
the  Fort,  where  they  had  concentrated  to  make  the  spring 
trade ;  exchanging  their  furs  and  peltries  for  articles  and 
luxuries  of  civilized  manufacture. 

The  great  family  of  Sioux  who  occupy  so  vast  a  tract  of 
country,  extending  from  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  river 
to  the  base  of  the  llocky  Mountains,  are  everywhere  a 
migratory  or  roaming  tribe,  divided  into  forty-two  bands 
or  families,  each  having  a  chief  who  all  acknowledge  a 
superior  or  head  chief,  to  whom  they  all  are  held  subordi« 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


S25 


nate.  This  subordination,  however,  I  should  rather  record 
as  thoir/ormer  and  native  regulation,  of  which  there  exists 
no  doubt,  than  an  existing  cue,  since  the  numerous  inno- 
vations made  amongst  these  people  by  the  Fur  Traders,  as 
well  as  by  the  proximity  of  civilization  along  a  great  deal 
of  their  frontier,  which  soon  upset  and  change  many  native 
regulations,  and  particularly  those  relating  to  their  govern- 
ment and  religion. 

There  is  one  principal  and  familiar  divison  of  this  tribe 
into  what  are  called  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri  Sioux. 
Those  bordering  on  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  concen- 
trating at  Prairie  du  Chien  and  Fort  Snelling,  for  the 
purposes  of  trade,  &c.,  are  called  the  Mississippi  Sioux. 
Tliese  are  somewhat  advanced  towards  civilization,  and 
familiar  with  white  people,  with  whom  they  have  held 
intercourse  for  many  years,  and  are  consequently  excessive 
whisky  drinkers,  though  constituting  but  a  meagre  pro- 
portion, and  at  ihe  same  time,  but  a  very  unfair  and 
imperfect  sample  of  the  great  mass  of  this  tribe  who  inhabit 
the  shores  of  the  IMissouri,  and  fearlessly  roam  on  the  vast 
plains  intervening  between  it  and  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
and  are  still  living  entirely  in  their  primitive  condition. 

There  is  no  tribe  on  the  Continent,  perhaps,  of  finer 
looking  men  than  the  Sioux;  and  few  tribes  who  are 
better  and  more  comfortably  clad,  and  supplied  with  the 
necessaries  of  life.  There  are  no  parts  of  the  great  plains 
of  America  which  are  more  abundantly  stocked  with 
buffaloes  and  wild  horses,  nor  any  people  more  bold  in 
destroying  the  one  for  food,  and  appropriating  the  other 
to  their  use.  There  has  gone  abroad,  from  the  many 
histories  which  have  been  written  of  these  people,  an 
opinion  which  is  too  current  in  the  world,  that  the  Indian 
is  necessarily  a  poor,  drunken,  murderous  wretch ;  which 
account  is  certainly  unjust  as  regards  the  savage,  and 
doing  less  than  justice  to  the  world  for  whom  such  histories 
have  been  prepared.  I  have  travelled  several  years 
already  amongst  these  people  and  I  have  not  had  my  scalp 


■i  . 


^mh 


326 


LETTERS   AXI)  NOTKS  O.V  THE 


taken,  nor  a  blow  struck  me;  nor  liail  occasion  to  raise  niy 
hand  against  an  Iniliau ;  nor  I'as  my  property  been  wtuloii 
as  yet  to  my  knowlcilge,  to  tlie  value  of  a  shilling;  ami 
that  ill  a  country  where  no  man  la  punishable  by  l;iw  for 
the  crime  of  stealing ;  still  some  of  theiti  steal,  and  nuirdor 
too  ;  and  if  white  men  did  not  do  the  same,  and  that  in 
defiance  of  the  laws  of  God  J\nd  man,  I  might  take  satis- 
faction in  stigmatizing  the  Indian  character  as  thievish 
and  murderous.  That  the  Indians  in  their  native  state  arc 
^^ dnmlat,^^  is  false;  for  they  are  the  only  temperance 
people,  literally  speaking,  that  ever  I  saw  in  my  travels,  or 
ever  expect  to  sec.  If  the  civilized  world  are  startled  at 
this,  it  is  the /ad  that  they  must  battle  with,  not  with  mo- 
for  these  people  manufacture  no  spirituous  liquor  tlioni- 
selves,  and  know  nothing  of  't  until  it  is  brought  into  their 
country  and  tentlerod  to  them  by  Christians.  That  tliono 
people  arc  "  n«AW'  is  equally  untrue,  and  as  easily 
disproved;  for  I  am  sure  that  with  the  paintings  I  have 
made  amongst  the  Mandans  and  Crows,  and  other  tribes; 
and  with  their  beautiful  costumes  which  I  have  procured 
and  skill  bring  home,  I  shall  be  able  to  establish  the  fact 
tliat  many  of  these  people  dress,  not  only  with  clothes 
comfortable  for  any  latitude,  but  that  they  also  dress  with 
some  considerable  taste  and  elegance.  Nor  am  I  quite  sure 
that  they  are  entitled  to  the  name  of  ^^2^'^^"  ^v''<^  ''^'"^  ■'' 
a  boundless  country  of  green  fields,  with  good  horses  tu 
rifle  ;  where  they  are  all  joint  tenants  of  the  .soil,  together: 
where  the  Great  Spirit  has  supplied  them  with  an  abund- 
ance of  food  to  eat ;  wdicro  they  arc  all  indulging  in  the 
pleasures  and  ainusements  of  a  lifetime  of  idleness  and 
case,  with  no  business  hours  to  attend  to,  or  professions  to 
learn  ;  w  here  they  have  no  notes  in  bank  or  other  debts  to 
pay — no  taxes,  no  tithes,  no  rents,  nor  beggars  to  toucli 
and  tax  the  sympathy  of  their  souls  at  every  step  they 
go.  Such  might  be  poverty  in  the  Christian  world,  but 
is  sure  to  be  a  l)lessing  where  the  pride  and  insolence  of 
comparative  wealth  are  unknown. 


1 


NORTH    AMKRICAN   IXDLVNS. 


827 


I  mcntioncil  that  tliia  is  tlio  nucleus  or  place  of  couceu- 
tration  of  the   numerous  tribe   of  the   Sioux,   who  often 
C()ngro;,'ate  hero  in  great  masses  to  make  their  trades  with 
the  American  Kur  Company ;  and  that  on  my  way  up  tlio 
river,  some  months  since,   I  found  hero  encamped,   six 
liuiidrcd  families  of  Sioux,   living  in  tents  covered  with 
bnffido  hides.    Amongst  these  there  were  twenty  or  more 
(if  the  difl'eront  bands,  each  one   with  their  chief  at   their 
head,    over    whom    was    a    superior  chief  and  leader,   a 
middle-aged  man,  of  middling  stature,  with  a  noblo  coun- 
tenance, and  a  figure  almost  equalling  the  Apollo,  and  I 
painted  his  portrait.     The  name  of  this  chief  is  Ila-won-je- 
tah  (the  one  horn)  of  the  Mee-ne-cow-cgce  band,  who  Ivxa 
risen  rapidly  to  the  highest  honors  in  the  tribe,  from  his 
own  extraordinary  merits,   even  at  so  early  an  age.    He 
told  me  that  he  took  the  name  of  "  One   Horn "  (or  shell) 
from  a  simple  small  shell  that  was  hanging  on  his  neck, 
which  descended  to  him  from  his  father,  and  which,  he  said, 
he  valued  more  than  anything  he  possessed ;  affording  a 
striking  instance  of  the  living  affection  which  these  people 
often  cherish  for  the  dead,  inasmuch  as  he  chose  to  carry 
this  name  through  life  in  preference  to  many  others  and 
more  honorable  ones  he  had  a  right  to  have  taken,   from 
different  battles  and  exploits  of  his  extraordinary  life.    He 
treated  me  with  great  kindnos.s  and  attention,  considering 
liiinself  highly   complimented   by  the  signal   and   unpre- 
cedented honor  I  had  confered   upon  him  by  painting  his 
portrait,  and   that  before  I  had  invited   any  other.    ITis 
costume  was  a  very  handsome  one,  and   will  have  a  place 
in  my  IxPiAN  Gallery  by  the  side  of  his  picture.    It  is 
made  of  elk  skins  beautifully  dressed,   and  fringed   with 
a  profusion  of  porcupine  quills  and  scalp  locks;  and  his 
liair,  which  is   very  long  and  profuse,   divided  into  two 
parts,  and  lifted  up  and  crossed,  over  the  top  of  his  head, 
with  a  simple  tie  giving  it  somewhat  the  appearance  of  a 
Turkish  turban. 
This  extraordinary  man,  before  he  was  raised   to  tli^- 


\% 


828 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


dignity  of  chief,  was  the  renowned  of  his  tribe  for  hia 
athletic  achievements.  In  the  chase  he  was  foremost ;  he 
could  run  down  a  buffalo,  which  he  often  had  done,  on  his 
own  legs,  and  drive  his  arrow  to  the  heart.  He  was  the 
fleetest  in  the  tribe ;  and  in  the  races  he  had  run,  he  had 
always  taken  the  prize. 

It  was  proverbial  in  his  tribe,  that  Ha-wan-je-tah's  bow 
never  was  drawn  in  vain,  and  his  wigwam  was  abundantly 
furnished  with  scalps  that  he  had  taken  from  his  enemies' 
heads  in  battle. 

Having  descended  the  river  thus  far,  then,  and  having 
hauled  out  my  canoe,  and  taken  up  my  quarters  for  awhile 
with  mine  host,  Mr.  Laidlaw,  as  I  have  before  said ;  and 
having  introduced  my  readers  to  the  country  and  the 
people,  and  more  particularly  to  the  chief  dignitary  of  the 
Sioux ;  and  having  promised  in  the  beginning  of  this  Letter 
also,  that  I  should  give  them  ^ome  amusing  and  curious 
information  that  we  picked  up,  and  incidents  that  we  met 
with,  on  our  voyage  from  the  Man  dans  to  this  place,  I 
have  again  to  beg  that  they  will  pardon  mo  for  with- 
holding from  them  yet  awhile  longer,  the  incidents  of  that 
curious  and  most  important  part  of  my  Tour,  the  absence 
of  which,  at  this  time,  seems  to  make  a  "  hole  in  the 
ballad,"  though  I  promise  my  readers  they  are  written, 
and  will  appear  in  the  book  in  a  proper  and  appropriate 
place. 

Taking  it  for  granted  then,  that  I  will  be  indulged  in 
this  freak,  I  am  taking  the  liberty  of  presuming  on  my 
readers'  patience  in  proposing  another  which  is  to  ofl'er 
them  here  an  extract  from  my  Notes,  which  were  made  on 
my  journey  of  thirteen  hundred  miles  from  St.  Louis  to 
tl'is  place,  where  I  stopped,  as  I  have  said,  amongst  several 
thout:ands  of  Sioux :  \^  here  I  remained  for  some  time,  and 
painted  my  numerous  portraits  of  their  chiefs,  &c. ;  one  of 
whom  was  the  head  and  leader  of  the  Sioux,  whom  I  have 
already  introduced.  On  tlic  \bng  and  tedious  route  that 
lies  between  St.  Louis  and  this  place,  I  passed  the  Sacs  and 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


829 


loways — the  Konzas — the  Omahaws,  and  the  Ottoes 
(making  notes  on  them  all,  which  are  reserved  for  another 
place),  and  landed  at  the  Puncaha,  a  small  tribe  residing  in 
one  village,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  river,  three  hundred 
miles  below  this,  and  one  thousand  from  St.  Louis. 

The  Puncahs  are  all  contained  in  seventy-five  or  eighty 
lodges,  made  of  buffalo  skins,  in  the  form  of  te^jjis ;  thf\ 
frames  for  which  are  poles  of  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  in 
length,  with  the  but  ends  standing  on  the  ground,  and  the 
small  ends  meeting  at  the  top,  forming  a  cone,  which  sheds 
off  the  rain  and  wind  with  perfect  success.  This  small 
remnant  of  a  tribe  are  not  more  than  four  or  five  hundred 
in  numbers;  and  I  should  think,  at  least,  two-thirds 
of  those  are  women.  This  disparity  in  numbers  having 
been  produced  by  the  continual  losses  which  their  men 
suffer,  who  are  penetrating  the  buffalo  country  for  meat, 
for  which  they  are  now  obliged  to  travel  a  great  way  (as 
the  buffaloes  have  recently  left  their  country),  exposing 
their  lives  to  their  more  numerous  enemies  about  them. 

The  chief,  who  was  wrapped  in  a  buffalo  robe,  is  a  noble 
specimen  of  native  dignity  and  philosophy.  I  conversed 
much  with  him ;  and  from  his  dignified  manners,  as  well 
as  from  the  soundness  of  his  reasoning,  I  became  fully 
convinced  that  he  deserved  to  be  the  sachem  of  a  more 
numerous  and  prosperous  tribe.  He  related  to  me  with 
great  coolness  and  frankness,  the  poverty  and  distress  of 
his  nation ;  and  with  the  method  of  a  philosopher,  pre 
dieted  the  certain  and  rapid  extinction  of  his  tribe,  which 
he  had  not  the  power  to  avert.  Poor,  noble  chief;  who 
was  equal,  and  worthy  of  a  greater  empire!  He  sat  upon 
the  deck  of  the  steamer,  overlooking  the  little  cluster  of  his 
wigwams  mingled  amongst  the  trees;  and,  like  Caius 
Marius,  weeping  over  the  ruins  of  Carthage,  shed  tears  as 
he  was  descanting  on  the  poverty  of  his  ill-fated  little  com 
munity,  which  he  told  me  "  had  once  been  powcrfull  and 
happy ;  that  the  buffaloes  which  the  Great  Spirit  had  given 
them  for  food,  and  which  formerly  spread  all  over  their 


il 


330 


LETTERS   AXD  NOTES  ON  THE 


green  prairies,  had  all  been  killed  or  driven  out  by  the 
approach  of  white  men,  who  wanted  their  skins ;  that  their 
country  was  now  entirely  destitute  of  game,  and  even  of 
roots  for  their  food,  as  it  was  one  continued  prairie ;  and 
that  his  young  men  penetrating  the  countries  of  their 
enemies  for  buffaloes,  which  they  where  obliged  to  do, 
were  cut  to  pieces  and  destroyed  in  great  numbers.  That 
his  people  had  foolishly  became  fond  oi fire-water  (whisky) 


THE  nRK-WATER. 

and  liad  given  away  cvorytliing  in  their  country  for  it— 
that  it  had  destroyed  many  of  his  warriors,  and  soon  would 
destroy  the   rest — that  his   triljo   was   too  small,  and  hi.s 


NORTH  AMERICAX  INDIANS. 


831 


warriors,  too  few  to  go  to  war  with  the  tribes  around  them ; 
that  they  were  met  and  killed  by  the  Sioux  on  the  North, 
by  the  Pawnees  on  the  West ;  and  by  the  Osages  and  Konzas 
on  the  South;  and  still  more  alarmeil  from  the  constant 
advance  of  the  pale  faces — their  enemies  from  the  East, 
with  whisky  and  sraall-pox,  which  already  had  destroyed 
four-fifths  of  his  tribe,  and  soon  would  impoverish,  and  at 
last  destroy  the  remainder  of  them, " 

In  this  way  did  this  shrewd  philosopher  lament  over  the 
unlucky  destiny  of  his  tribe;  and  I  pitied  him  with  all  my 
heart.  I  have  no  doubt  of  the  correctness  of  his  represeur 
tations;  and  I  believe  there  is  no  tribe  on  the  frontier 
more  in  want,  nor  any  more  deserving  of  the  sympathy 
and  charity  of  the  government  and  Christian  societies  of 
the  civilized  v^rld 

The  son  •  '^  ■  '■>  chief,  a  youth  of  eighteen  years,  dis- 
tinguished hi-  1  1  a  singular  manner  the  day  before  our 
steamer  reacheu  their  village,  by  taking  to  himself  four 
vnves  in  otxe  day !  This  extraordinary  and  unprecedented 
freak  of  his,  was  just  the  thing  to  make  him  the  greatest 
sort  of  medicine  in  the  eyes  of  his  people  ;  and  probably  he 
may  date  much  of  his  success  and  greatness  through  life, 
to  this  bold  and  original  step,  which  suddenly  raised  him 
into  notice  and  importance. 

The  old  chief  Shoodega-cha,  of  whom  I  have  spoken 
above,  considering  his  son  to  have  arrived  at  the  age  of 
maturity,  fitted  him  out  for  house-keeping,  by  giving  him 
a  handsome  wigwam  to  live  in,  and  nine  horses,  with  many 
other  valuable  presents;  when  the  boy,  whose  name  is 
Hongskay-de  (the  great  chief,)  soon  laid  his  plans  fur  the 
proud  and  pleasant  epoch  in  his  life,  and  consummated 
tliem  in  the  following  ingenious  and  amusing  manner. 

"Wishing  to  connect  himself  with,  and  consequently  to 
secure  the  countenance  of  some  of  the  most  influential  men 
in  the  tribe,  he  had  held  an  interview  with  one  of  the  most 
distinjxuishcd ;  and  easily  (being  the  son  of  a  chief,)  made 
an  arrangement  for  the  hand  of  his  daughter,  which  ho 


*      k-Vt   u     ""it] 


832 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


was  to  receive  on  a  certain  day,  and  at  a  certain  hour,  for 
which  he  was  to  give  two  horses,  a  gun,  and  several 
pounds  of  tobacco.  This  was  enjoined  on  the  father  as  a 
profound  secret,  and  as  a  condition  of  the  espousal.  In 
like  manner  he  soon  made  similar  arrangements  with  three 
other  leading  men  of  the  tribe,  each  of  whom  had  a  young 
and  beautiful  daughter,  of  marriageable  age.  To  each  of 
the  fathers  he  had  promised  two  horses,  and  other  presents 
similar  to  those  stipulated  for  in  the  first  instance,  and  all 
under  the  same  injunctions  of  seoresy,  until  the  hour 
approached,  when  he  had  announced  to  the  whole  tribe 
that  he  was  to  be  married.  At  the  time  appointed,  they 
all  assembled,  and  all  were  in  ignorance  of  the  fair  hand 
that  was  to  be  placed  in  his  on  this  occasion.  He  had  got 
some  of  his  young  friends  who  were  prepared  to  assist  him 
to  lead  up  the  eight  horses.  He  took  two  of  them  by  the 
halters,  and  the  other  present"?  agreed  upon  in  his  other 
hand,  and  advancing  to  the  first  of  the  parents,  whose 
daughter  was  standing  by  the  side  of  him,  saying  to  him, 
•'  you  promised  me  the  hand  of  your  daughter  on  this  day, 
for  which  I  was  to  give  you  two  horses."  The  father 
assented  with  a  "  ugh!"  receiving  the  presents,  and  givinn^ 
his  child ;  when  some  confusion  ensued  from  the  simulta- 
neous remonstrances,  which  were  suddenly  made  by  the 
other  three  parents,  who  had  brought  their  daughters 
forward,  and  were  shocked  at  this  sudden  disappointment, 
as  well  as  by  the  mutual  declarations  they  were  making,  of 
similar  contracts  that  each  one  had  entered  into  with  him ! 
As  soon  as  they  could  be  pacified,  and  silence  was  restored, 
he  exultingly  replied,  "You  have  all  acknowledged  in 
public  your  promises  with  me,  which  I  shall  expect  you  to 
fulfil.  I  am  here  to  perform  all  the  engagements  which  I 
have  made,  and  I  expect  you  all  to  do  the  same." — No 
more  was  said.  He  led  up  the  two  horses  for  each,  and 
delivered  the  other  presents;  leading  off  to  his  wigwam  liis 
four  brides — taking  two  in  each  hand,  and  commenced  at 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


833 


once  upon  his  new  mode  of  life ;  reserving  only  one  of  his 
horses  for  his  own  daily  use. 

I  visited  the  wigwam  of  this  young  installed  medicine- 
man several  times,  and  saw  his  four  modest  little  wives 
seated  around  the  fire,  where  all  seemed  to  harmonize  very 
well ;  and  for  aught  I  could  discover,  were  entering  very 
happily  on  the  duties  and  pleasures  of  married  life.  I 
selected  one  of  them  for  her  portrait,  and  painted  it,  Mong- 
shong-shaw  (the  bending  willow),  in  a  very  pretty  dress  of 
deer  skins,  and  covered  with  a  young  buftalo's  robe,  which 
was  handsomely  ornamented,  and  worn  with  much  grace 
and  pleasing  eftect. 

Mr.  Chouteau  of  the  Fur  Company,  and  Major  Sanford, 
the  agent  for  the  Upper  Missouri  Indians,  were  with  me  at 
this  time ;  and  both  of  these  gentlemen,  highly  pleased 
with  so  ingenious  and  innocent  a  freak,  felt  disposed  to  be 
liberal,  and  sent  them  many  presents  from  the  steamer. 

The  ages  of  these  young  brides  were  probably  all  between 
twelve  and  fifteen  years — the  season  of  life  in  which  most 
the  girls  in  this  wild  country  contract  marriage. 

It  is  a  surprising  fact,  that  women  mature  in  these 
regions  at  that  early  age,  and  there  have  been  some 
instances  where  marriage  has  taken  place,  even  at  eleven ; 
and  the  juvenile  mother  has  been  blest  with  her  first 
oflfepring  at  the  age  of  twelve !  '   :    ' 

These  facts  are  calculated  to  create  surprise  and  almost 
incredulity  in  the  mind  of  the  reader,  but  there  are  circum- 
stances for  his  consideration  yet  to  be  kno^vn,  which  will 
in  a  manner  account  for  these  extraordinary  facts. 

There  is  not  a  doubt  but  there  is  a  more  early  approach 
to  maturity  amongst  the  females  of  this  country  than  in 
civilized  communities,  owing  either  to  a  natural  and 
constitutional  difference,  or  to  the  exposed  and  active  lifo 
they  lead.  Yet  there  is  another  and  more  general  cause 
of  early  marriages  (and  consequently  apparent  maturity), 
which  arises  out  of  the  modes  and  forms  of  the  country, 
where  most  of  the  marriages   are  contracted  with  the 


^'il 


'   "M 


'.:i.  ,     *  1 1! 


'!?hu,, 


SS4 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES. 


parents,  hurried  on  by  the  impatience  of  the  applicant  and 
prematurely  accepted  and  consummated  on  the  part  of 
the  parents,  who  are  often  impatient  to  be  in  receipt  of 
the  presents  they  are  to  receive  as  the  price  of  their 
daughters.  There  is  also  the  facility  of  dissolving  the 
marriage  contract  in  this  country,  which  does  away  with 
one  of  the  most  serious  difficulties  which  lies  in  the  way 
in  the  civilized  world,  and  calculated  greatly  to  retard  its 
consummation,  which  is  not  an  equal  objection  in  Indian 
communities.  Education  and  accomplishmenti^,  again  iu 
the  fashionable  world,  and  also  a  time  and  a  season  to 
flourish  and  show  them  off,  necessarily  engross  tliat  part 
of  a  young  lady's  life,  when  the  poor  Indian  girl,  who  finds 
herself  weaned  from  the  familiar  embrace  of  her  parents 
with  her  mind  and  her  body  maturing,  and  her  thoughts 
and  her  passions  straying  away  in  the  world  for  some 
theme  or  some  pleasure  to  cling  to,  easily  follows  their 
juvenile  and  ardent  dictates,  prematurely  entering  on  that 
system  of  life,  consisting  in  reciprocal  dependence  and 
protection. 

In  the  instance  above  described,  the  young  man  was  in 
no  way  censured  by  his  people,  but  most  loudly  applauded ; 
for  in  this  country  polygamy  is  allowed ;  and  in  this  tribe, 
where  there  are  two  or  three  times  the  number  of  women 
that  there  are  of  men,  such  an  arrangement  answers  a  good 
purpose,  whereby  so  many  of  the  females  arc  provided  for 
and  taken  care  of;  and  particularly  so,  and  to  the  great 
satisfaction  of  the  tribe,  as  well  as  of  the  parties  and 
families  concerned,  when  so  many  fall  to  the  lot  of  a  chief, 
or  the  son  of  a  chief,  into  whose  wigwam  it  is  considered 
an  honor  to  be  adopted,  and  where  they  are  the  most  sure 
of  protection. 


LETTER  No.  XXVII. 
MOUTH  OP  TETON  RIVER,  VrPER  MISSOURI. 

When'  we  were  about  to  start  on  our  way  up  the  river 
from  the  village  of  the  Puncahs,  we  found  that  they  were 
packing  up  all  their  goods  and  preparing  to  start  for  the 
prairies,  farther  to  the  West,  in  pursuit  of  buffaloes,  to  dry 
meat  for  their  winter's  supplies.  They  took  down  their 
wigwams  of  skins  to  carry  with  them,  and  all  were  flat  to 
the  ground  and  everything  packing  up  ready  for  the  start. 
My  attention  was  directed  by  Major  Sanford,  the  Indian 
Agent,  to  one  of  the  most  miserable  and  helpless  looking 
objects  that  I  ever  had  seen  in  my  life — a  very  aged  and 
emaciated  man  of  the  tribe,  who,  he  told  me,  was  to  be 
exposed. 

The  tribe  were  going  where  hunger  and  dire  necessity 
compelled  them  to  go,  and  this  pitiable  object,  who  had 
once  been  a  chief,  and  a  man  of  distinction  in  hia  tribe, 
who  was  now  too  old  to  travel,  being  reduced  to  mere  skin 
and  bones,  was  to  bo  left  to  starve,  or  meet  with  such 
death  as  might  fall  to  his  lot,  and  his  bones  to  be  picked 
by  the  wolves  I    I  lingered  around  this  poor  old  forsaken 

(335) 


» 


"i-..?* 


336 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


patriarch  for  hours  before  we  started,  to  indulge  the  tears 
of  sympathy  which  were  flowing  for  the  sake  of  this 
poor  benighted  and  decrepit  old  man,  whose  worn-out 
limbs  were  no  longer  able  to  support  him ;  their  kind 
and  faithful  offices  having  long  since  been  performed  and 
his  body  and  his  mind  doomed  to  linger  into  the  withering 
agony  of  decay,  and  gradual  solitary  death.  I  wept,  and 
it  was  a  pleasure  to  weep,  for  the  painful  looks,  and  the 
dreary  prospects  of  this  old  veteran,  whose  eyes  were 
dimmed,  whose  venerable  loclis  were  whitened  by  an 
hundred  years,  whose  limbs  were  almost  naked,  and 
trembling  as  he  sat  by  a  small  fire  which  his  friends  had 
left  him,  with  a  few  sticks  of  wood  within  his  reach  and 
a  bufl'alo's  skin  stretched  upon  some  crotches  over  his 
head.  Such  was  to  be  his  only  dwelling,  and  such  the 
chances  for  his  life,  with  only  a  few  half  picked  bones  tliat 
were  laid  within  his  reach,  and  a  dish  of  water,  without 
weapon  or  means  of  any  kind  to  replenish  them,  or  strength 
to  move  his  body  from  its  fatal  locality.  In  this  sad  plight 
I  mournfully  contemplated  this  miserable  remnant  of 
existence,  who  had  unluckily  outlived  the  fates  and  acci- 
dents of  wars  to  die  alone,  at  death's  leisure.  His  friciids 
and  his  children  bad  all  left  him,  and  were  preparing  iu  a 
little  time  to  be  on  the  march.  He  had  told  them  to  leave 
him,  "he  was  old,"  he  said  "and  too  feeble  to  march." 
"My  children,"  said  he,  "our  nation  is  poor,  and  it  is 
necessary  that  you  should  all  go  to  the  country  where  you 
can  get  meat, — my  eyes  are  dimmed  and  my  strength  is 
no  more ;  my  days  are  nearly  all  numbered,  and  I  am  a 
burthen  to  my  children — I  cannot  go,  and  I  wish  to  die. 
Keep  your  hearts  stout,  and  think  not  of  me ;  I  am  no 
longer  good  for  anything."  In  this  way  they  had  finished 
the  ceremony  of  exposing  him,  and  taken  their  final  leave 
of  him.  I  advanced  to  the  oLl  man,  and  was  undoubtedly 
the  la.st  human  being  who  held  converse  with  him.  \  sat  by 
the  side  of  him,  and  though  he  could  not  distinct!;-  see  me, 
ho  shook  mo  heartily  by  the  hand  and  smiled,  evidently 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


887 


aware  that  I  was  a  white  man,  and  that  I  sympathized  with 
his  inevitable  misfortune.  I  shook  hands  again  with  him, 
and  left  him,  steering  my  course  towards  the  steamer 
which  was  a  mile  or  more  from  me,  and  ready  to  resume 
her  voyage  up  the  Missouri.* 

This  cruel  custom  of  exposing  their  aged  people, 
belongs,  I  think,  to  all  the  tribes  who  roam  about  the 
prairits,  making  severe  marches,  when  such  decrepit 
persons  are  totally  unable  to  go,  unable  to  ride  or  to  walk, 
— when  they  have  no  means  of  carrying  them.  It  often 
becomes  absolutely  necessary  in  such  cases  that  they 
should  be  left;  and  they  uniformly  insist  upon  it,  saying,  as 
this  old  man  did,  that  they  are  old  and  of  no  further  use — 
that  they  left  their  fathers  in  the  same  manner — that  they 
wish  to  die,  and  their  children  must  not  mourn  for  them. 

From  the  Puncah  village,  our  steamer  made  regular 
progress  from  day  to  day  towards  the  mouth  of  the  Teton, 
from  where  I  am  now  writing ;  passing  the  whole  way  a 
country  of  green  fields,  that  came  sloping  down  to  the 
river  on  either  side,  forming  the  loveliest  scenes  in  the 
world. 

From  day  to  day  we  advanced,  opening  our  eyes  to 
something  new  and  more  beautiful  every  hour  that  we 
progressed,  until  at  last  our  boat  was  aground ;  and  a  day's 
work  of  Bounding  told  us  at  last,  that  there  was  no  possi- 
bility of  advancing  further,  until  there  should  be  a  rise  in 
the  river,  to  enable  the  boat  to  get  over  the  bar.  After 
laying  in  the  middle  of  the  river  about  a  week,  in  this 
unpromising  dilemma,  Mr.  Chouteau  started  off  twenty 
men  on  foot,  to  cross  the  plains  for  a  distance  of  two 

*  When  pajsing  by  tho  sito  of  the  Puiicah  village  a  few  months 
after  this,  in  my  canoe,  I  went  ashore  with  my  men,  and  found  the 
poles  and  tho  buffalo  skin,  standing  as  they  were  left,  over  the  old 
man's  head.  The  firebrands  were  lying  nearly  as  I  had  left  them,  and 
I  found  at  a  few  yards  distant  the  skull,  and  others  of  his  bones,  which 
had  been  piekcd  and  cleaned  by  tlie  wolves ;  which  is  probably  all  that 
any  human  being  can  ever  know  of  his  final  and  melancholy  fate. 

22 


illil^n 


838 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  OX  TUBS 


hundred  miles  to  Laidlaw's  Fort,  at  the  mouth  of  Teton 
river.  To  this  expedition,  I  immediately  attached  myself- 
and  having  heard  that  a  numerous  party  of  Sioux  were 
there  encamped,  and  waiting  to  see  the  steamer,  I  packed 
on  the  backs,  and  in  the  hands  of  several  of  the  men,  such 
articles  for  painting,  as  T  might  want;  canvass,  paints,  and 
brushes,  with  my  sketch-book  slung  on  my  back,  and  my 
rifle  in  my  hand,  and  I  started  off  with  them. 

We  took  leave  of  our  friends  on  the  boat,  and  mountin'^ 
the  green  bluffs,  steered  our  course  from  day  to  day  over  a 
level  prairie,  without  a  tree  or  a  bush  in  sight,  to  relieve 
the  painful  monotony,  filling  our  canteens  at  the  occasional 
little  streams  that  wo  passed,  kindling  our  fires  with  dried 
buffalo  dung,  which  we  collected  on  the  prairie,  and 
stretching  our  tired  limbs  on  the  level  turf  whenever  we 
were  overtaken  by  night. 

We  were  six  or  seven  days  in  performing  this  march ; 
and  it  gave  me  a  good  opportunity  of  testing  the  muscles 
of  my  legs,  with  a  number  of  half-breeds  and  Frenchmen, 
whose  lives  are  mostly  spent  in  this  way,  leading  a  novice 
a  cruel,  and  almost  killing  journey.  Every  rod  of  our  way 
was  over  a  continuous  prairie,  with  a  verdant  green  turf  of 
wild  grass  of  six  or  eight  inches  in  height ;  and  most  of 
the  way  enamelled  Avith  wild  flowers,  and  filled  with  a 
profusion  of  strawberries. 

For  two  or  three  of  the  first  days,  the  scenery  was 
monotonous,  and  became  exceedingly  painful  from  the 
fact,  that  we  were  (t(  use  a  phrase  of  the  country)  "out  of 
sight  of  land,"  i.  e.  out  of  sight  of  anything  rising  above 
the  horizon,  which  was  a  perfect  straight  lino  around  us, 
like  that  of  the  blue  and  boundless  ocean.  The  pedestrian 
over  such  a  discouraging  sea  of  green,  without  a  landmark 
before  or  behind  him;  without  a  beacon  to  lead  him  on,  or 
define  his  progress,  feels  weak  and  overcome  when  night 
falls ;  and  he  stretclies  his  exhausted  limbs,  apparently  on 
the  same  spot  where  he  had  slept  the  night  before,  with 
the  same  prospect  before  and  behind  him;  the  same  grass, 


so 

one 

ad 

m' 

wel 

whi 

rest 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


889 


and  the  same  wild  flowers  beneath  and  about  him;  the 
same  canopy  over  his  hoau,  and  the  same  cheerless  sea  of 
green  to  start  upon  in  the  morning.  It  is  difficult  to 
describe  the  simple  beauty  and  serenity  of  these  scenes  of 
solitude,  or  the  feelings  of  feeble  man,  whose  limbs  are 
toiling  to  carry  him  through  them — without  a  hill  or  tree 
to  mark  his  progress,  and  convince  him  that  he  is  not,  like 
a  squirrel  in  his  cage,  after  all  his  toil,  standing  still.  One 
commences  on  peregrinations  like  these,  with  a  light  heart, 
and  a  nimble  foot,  and  spirits  as  buoyant  as  the  very  air 
that  floats  along  by  the  side  of  him ;  but  his  spirit  soon 
tires,  and  he  lags  on  the  way  that  is  rendered  more  tedious 
and  intolerable  by  the  tantalizing  mirage  that  opens  before 
him  beautiful  lakes,  and  lawns,  and  copses;  or  by  the 
looming  of  the  prairie  ahead  of  him,  that  seems  to  rise  in 
a  parapet,  and  decked  with  its  varied  flowers,  phanton- 
likc,  flies  and  moves  along  before  him. 

I  got  on  for  a  couple  of  days  in  tolerable  condition,  and 
with  some  considerable  applause;  but  my  half-bred  com- 
panions took  the  lead  at  length,  and  left  me  with  several 
other  novices  far  behind,  which  gave  me  additional  pangs ; 
and  I  at  length  felt  like  giving  up  the  journey,  and 
throwing  myself  upon  the  ground  in  hopeless  despair.  I 
was  not  alone  in  my  misery,  however,  but  was  cheered  and 
encouraged  by  looking  back  and  beholding  several  of  our 
party  half  a  mile  or  more  in  the  rear  of  me,  jogging  along, 
and  sulTering  more  agony  in  their  new  experiment  than  I 
was  sufieritig  myself.  Their  loitering  and  my  murmurs,  at 
length,  brouglxt  our  leaders  to  a  halt,  and  we  held  a  sort  of 
council,  in  which  I  explained  that  the  pain  in  my  feet  was 
so  intolerable,  that  I  felt  as  if  I  could  go  no  further ;  when 
one  of  our  half-breed  leaders  stepped  up  to  me,  and 
addressing  me  in  French,  told  me  that  I  must  "  turn  my  toes 
irC  as  the  Indians  do,  and  that  I  could  then  go  on  very 
well.  We  halted  a  half  hour,  and  took  a  little  refreshment, 
whilst  the  little  Frenchman  was  teaching  his  lesson  to  the 
rest  of  my  fellow-novices,  when  we  took   up  our  march 


840 


LBTTEBS  AKD  NOTES  ON  Tnn 


again;  and  I  soon  found  upon  trial,  that  by  turning  my 
toea  in,  my  feet  went  more  easily  tlirough  the  grass;  and 
by  turning  the  weight  of  n.y  body  more  equally  on  the 
toes  (enabling  each  one  to  support  its  proportionable  part 
of  the  load,  instead  of  throwing  it  all  on  to  the  joints  of  the 
big  toea,  which  is  done  when  the  toes  arc  turned  out;)  I 
soon  got  relief,  and  made  my  onward  progress  very  well. 
I  rigidly  adhered  to  this  mode,  and  found  no  difficulty  on 
tho  third  and  fourth  days,  of  taking  the  lead  of  the  whole 
party,  which  I  constantly  led  until  our  journey  was 
completed.* 

On  this  journey  we  saw  immense  herds  of  buffaloes ;  and 
although  we  had  no  horses  to  run  them,  wo  successfully 
approached  them  on  foot,  and  supplied  ourselves  abundantly 
with  fresh  meat.  After  travelling  for  several  days,  wc 
came  in  sight  of  a  high  range  of  blue  hills  in  distance  on 
our  left,  which  rose  to  the  height  of  several  hundred  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  prarics.  These  hills  were  a  con- 
spicuous landmark  at  last,  and  some  relief  to  us.  I  was 
told  by  our  guide,  that  they  were  called  the  Bijou  Ilills, 
from  a  Fur  Trader  of  that  name,  who  had  had  his  tr.idiii<'- 
house  at  the  foot  of  them  on  the  banks  of  tho  Mis.souri 
river,  whore  he  was  at  last  destroyed  by  the  Sioux  Indians. 

Not  many  miles  back  of  this  range  of  hills,  we  came  in 
contact  with  an  immense  saline,  or  "salt  meadow,"  a.s  they 
are  termed  in  this  country,  which  turned  ua  out  of  our  path, 


*  On  this  march  wo  wpre  all  travelling  in  moccasins,  which  being  niadu 
without  any  soles,  according  to  the  Indian  custom,  had  but  littlo  sup- 
port for  the  foot  underneath ;  and  consequently,  soon  subjected  us  to 
excruciating  jmiu,  whilst  walking  according  to  the  civilized  mode,  with 
the  toes  turned  out.  From  this  very  painful  oxpcrienco  I  learned  to 
my  complete  satisfaction,  that  man  in  u  state  of  nature  who  walks  on 
his  naked  feet  rnunt  walk  with  his  toes  turned  in,  that  each  may  perform 
the  duties  assigned  to  it  in  proportion  to  its  size  and  strength;  and  that 
civilized  man  can  walk  with  his  toes  turned  out  if  he  chooses,  if  he  will 
use  a  stiff  sole  under  hi.s  feet,  and  will  be  content  at  last  to  put  up  with 
an  acquired  deformity  of  the  big  toe  joint,  which  too  many  know  to  be  a 
frequent  and  painful  occurrence. 


KORTU  AMERICAN   INDIANS, 


Ml 


and  compoUcd  us  to  travel  several  miles  out  of  our  way,  to 
get  by  it ;  wc  came  suddenly  upon  a  groat  depression  of  the 
prairie,  which  extended  for  several  miles,  and  as  wo  stood 
upon  its  green  banks,  which  wore  gracefully  sloping  down, 
wo  could  overlook  some  hundreds  of  acres  of  the  prairio 
which  were  covered  with  an  incrustation  of  salt,  that 
appeared  tho  samo  as  if  the  ground  was  everywhere 
covered  with  snow. 

These  scenes,  I  am  told,  are  frequently  to  bo  met  with  in 
these  regions,  and  certainly  present  the  most  singular  and 
startling  eftect,  by  tho  sudden  and  unexpected  contrast 
between  their  snow-white  appearance,  and  tho  green  fields 
that  hem  them  in  on  all  sides.  Through  each  of  theso 
meadows  there  is  a  meandering  small  stream  which  arises 
from  salt  springs,  throwing  out  in  the  spring  of  tho  year 
great  quantities  of  water,  which  flood  over  these  meadows 
to  tho  depth  of  three  or  four  feet ;  and  during  tho  heat  of 
summer  being  exposed  to  tho  rays  of  the  sun,  entirely 
evaporates,  leaving  the  incrustation  of  muriate  on  tho 
surface,  to  the  depth  of  one  or  two  inches.  These  places 
are  tho  constant  resort  of  buffaloes,  which  congregate  in 
thousands  about  them,  to  lick  up  the  salt ;  and  on  ap- 
proaching the  banks  of  this  place  we  stood  amazed  at  the 
almost  incredible  numbers  of  these  animals,  which  were  in 
sight  on  tho  opposite  bank,  at  the  distance  of  a  mile  or  two 
from  us,  where  they  were  lying  in  countless  numbers,  on 
the  level  praries  above,  and  stretching  down  by  hundreds, 
to  lick  at  the  salt,  forming  in  distance,  large  masses  .n 
black,  most  pleasingly  in  contrast  with  the  snow  white,  und 
and  the  vivid  green,  which  I  have  before  mentioned. 

After  several  days'  toil  in  tho  manner  above  mertioned, 
all  the  way  over  soft  and  green  fields,  and  amntod  with 
many  pleasing  incidents  and  accidents  of  the  chase,  wc 
arrived,  pretty  well  jaded,  at  Fort  Pierre,  mouth  of  Teton 
River,  from  whence  I  am  now  vyiiting  ;  where  for  the  first 
time  I  was  introduced  to  Mr.  M'Kenzie  (of  whom  I  have 
before  spoken),  to  Mr.  Laidlaw,  mine  host,  and  Mr.  Ilalsey, 


V 


m 


^Ui'  *' 


ill  'tH 

s 

'    Vt    m 

I 

.  ■f-'' 

|| 

'i.  J;  ?■ 

r    '1'  ^      :!-- 

11 

'   f 

342 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


a  chief  clerk  in  the  establishment;  and  after,  to  the  head 
chief  and  dignitaries  of  the  great  Sioux  nation,  who  were 
here  encamped  about  the  Fort,  in  six  or  seven  hundred 
skin  lodges,  and  waiting  for  the  arrival  of  the  steamer, 
which  they  had  heard,  was  on  its  way  up  the  river,  and 
which  they  had  great  curiosity  to  sec. 

After  resting  a  few  days,  and  recovering  from  the 
fatigues  of  my  journey,  having  taken  a  fair  survey  of  the 
Sioux  village,  and  explained  my  views  to  the  Indians, 
as  well  as  to  the  gentlemen  whom  I  have  above  mamed ;  I 
commenced  my  operations  with  the  brush,  and  first  of  all 
painted  the  portrait  of  the  head-chief  of  the  Sioux  (the  one 
horn),  whom  I  have  before  spoken  of.  This  truly  noble 
fellow  sat  for  his  portrait,  and  it  was  finished  before  any 
one  of  the  tribe  knew  anything  of  it;  several  of  the  chiefs 
and  doctors  were  allowed  to  see  it,  and  at  last  it  was  talked 
of  through  the  village ;  and  of  course,  the  greater  part  of 
their  numbers  were  at  once  gathered  around  me.  Nothiiitr 
short  of  hanging  it  out  of  doors  on  the  side  of  my  wigwam 
would  in  any  way  answer  them  ;  and  here  I  liad  the  pecu- 
liar satisfaction  of  beholding,  through  a  small  hole  I  had 
made  in  my  wigwam,  the  high  admiration  and  respect  they 
all  felt  for  their  chief,  as  well  as  the  very  great  c-^timatioii 
in  which  they  held  me  as  a  painter  and  a  magician,  confer- 
ring upon  me  at  once  the  very  distinguished  appellation  of 
Eo-cha-/,oo-kali-ga-wakon  (the  medicine  painter). 

After  the  exhibition  of  this  chief's  picture,  there  was 
much  excitement  in  the  village  about  it ;  the  doctors 
generally  took  a  decided  and  noisy  stand  against  the 
operations  of  my  brush;  hai.tnguing  the  populace,  and 
predicting  bad  luck,  and  premature  death,  to  all  who  sub- 
mitted to  so  strange  and  unaccountable  an  operation  !  My 
business  for  some  days  was  entirely  at  a  stand  for  want  of 
sitters;  for  the  doctors  were  opposing  me  with  all  their 
force;  and  the  women  and  children  were  crying,  with  tlieir 
hands  over  their  mouths,  making  the  most  pitiful  and 
doleful  la'uents,  which  I  never  can  explain  to  my  readers' 


t.ii 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


813 


but  for  some  just  account  of  which,  I  must  refer  them  to 
my  friends  M'Kcnzie  and  Halsey,  who  overlooked,  with 
infinite  amusement,  these  curious  scenes  and  are  able,  no 
doubt,  to  give  them  with  truth  and  effect  to  the  world. 

In  this  sad  and  perplexing  dilemma,  this  noble  chief 
stepped  forw  -d,  and  addressing  himself  to  the  chiefs  and 
the  doctors,  to  the  braves  and  to  the  women  and  children, 
he  told  them  to  be  quiet,  and  to  treat  me  with  friendship ; 
that  I  had  been  travelling  a  great  way  to  see  them,  and 
smoke  with  them ;  that  I  was  great  medicine,  to  be  sure ; 
that  I  was  a  great  chief,  and  that  I  was  the  friend  of  Mr. 
Laidlaw  and  Mr.  M'Kcnzie,  who  had  prevailed  upon  him  to 
sit  for  his  picture,  and  fully  assured  him  that  there  was  no 
harm  in  it.  His  speech  had  the  desired  effect,  and  I  was 
shaken  hands  with  by  hundreds  of  their  worthies,  many  of 
whom  were  soon  dressed  and  ornamented,  prepared  to  sit 
for  their  portraits.* 

*  Several  years  after  I  painted  the  portrait  of  this  extraordinary  man, 
and  whilst  I  was  delivering  my  Lectures  in  the  City  of  New  York,  I 
first  received  intelligence  of  his  death,  in  the  following  singular 
manner : — I  was  on  the  platform  in  my  Lecture-room,  in  the  Stuy  vesant 
Institute,  with  an  audience  of  twelve  or  fourteen  hundred  persons,  in  the 
midst  of  whom  were  seated  a  delegation  of  thirty  or  forty  Sioux  Indians 
nnder  the  charge  of  Major  Pilchcr,  their  agent ;  and  I  was  successively 
passing  before  their  eyes  the  portraits  of  a  number  of  Stoux  chiefs,  and 
making  my  remarks  upon  them.  The  Sioux  instantly  recognized  each 
one  as  it  was  exhibited,  which  tlioy  instantly  hailed  by  a  sharp  and 
startling  yelp.  But  when  the  portrait  of  this  chief  was  placed  before 
them,  instead  of  the  usual  recognition,  each  one  placed  his  hand  over 
liis  mouth,  and  gave  a  "  hush — sh — "  and  hung  down  their  heads,  their 
usual  expressions  of  grief  in  case  of  a  death.  From  this  sudden  emotion, 
I  knew  instantly,  that  the  chief  must  be  dead,  and  so  expressed  my 
belief  to  the  audience.  I  stopped  uiy  Lecture  a  few  moments  to  con- 
verse with  Major  Pilchcr  who  was  by  my  side,  and  who  gave  me  the 
following  extraordinary  account  of  his  death,  which  I  immediately  re- 
lated to  the  audience ;  and  which  being  translated  to  the  Sioux  Indians, 
their  chief  arose  and  addressed  himself  to  the  audience,  saying  that  the 
account  was  true,  and  that  Ilu-wan-je-tah  was  killed  but  a  few  days 
before  they  left  home. 

Tlic  account  which  Major  Pilchcr  gave  was  nearly  as  follows  ;— 


l»    f 

■rt 


lilt'" 


tm^^  ,,J' 


vStS 


^>  M 


1^^ 


344 


LETTERS   AND  NOTES. 


"  But  a  few  \reeks  before  I  left  the  Sioux  country  with  the  dQlegation 
Ila-wan-jo-tah  (the  one  horn)  had  in  some  way  been  the  accidental  cause 
of  the  death  of  his  only  son,  a  very  fine  youth ;  and  so  great  was  the 
anguish  of  his  mind  at  times,  that  he  became  frantic  and  insane.  In 
one  of  these  modes  he  mounted  his  favorite  war-horse  with  his  bow 
and  his  arrows  in  his  hand,  and  dashed  off  at  full  speed  upon  the  prairies 
repeating  the  most  solemn  oath,  "  that  he  would  slay  the  first  liviiif 
thing  that  fell  in  his  way,  be  it  man  or  beast,  or  friend  or  foe." 

"  No  one  dared  to  follow  him,  and  after  ho  had  been  absent  an  hour 
or  two,  his  horse  came  back  to  the  village  with  two  arrows  in  his  body, 
and  covered  with  blood  !  Fears  of  the  most  serious  kind  were  now 
entertained  for  the  fate  of  the  chief,  and  a  party  of  warriors  immediately 
mounted  their  horses,  and  retraced  the  animal's  tracks  to  the  place  of 
the  tragedy,  where  they  found  the  body  of  their  chief  horribly  mangled 
and  gored  by  a  buffalo  bull,  whose  carcass  was  stretched  by  the  side  of 
him. 

"  A  close  examination  of  the  ground  was  then  made  by  the  Indians 
who  ascertained  by  the  tracks,  that  their  unfortunate  chief,  under  his 
unlucky  resolve,  had  met  a  buffalo  bull  in  the  season  when  they  are 
very  stubborn,  and  unwilling  to  run  from  any  one ;  and  had  incensed 
the  animal  by  shooting  a  number  of  arrows  into  him,  which  had  brought 
him  into  furious  combat.  The  chief  had  then  dismounted,  and  turned 
his  horse  loose,  having  given  it  a  couple  of  arrows  from  his  bow,  which 
i<ent  it  home  at  full  speed,  and  then  had  thrown  away  his  how  and 
({uiver,  encountering  the  infuriated  animal  with  his  knife  alone,  and  the 
desperate  battle  resulted  as  I  have  before-mentioned,  in  the  death  of 
both.  Many  of  the  bones  of  the  chief  were  broken,  as  ho  was  gored  and 
stamped  to  death,  and  his  huge  antagonist  had  laid  his  body  by  the 
fiide  of  him,  weltering  in  blood  from  an  hundred  wouoda  made  by  the 
chiefs  long  and  two-edged  knife." 


L^ 


LETTER  No.  XXVIII. 

MOUTH  OF  TETON  RIVER,  VPPER  MISSOURI. 

Whilst  painting  the  portraits  of  the  chiefs  and  braves 
of  the  Sioux,  as  described  in  my  last  epistle,  my  painting- 
room  was  the  continual  rendezvous  of  the  worthies  of  the 
tribe ;  and  I,  the  "  lion  of  the  day,"  and  my  art,  the  summum 
and  ne  plus  ultra  of  mysteries,  which  engaged  the  whole 
conversation  of  chiefs  and  sachoms,  ua  well  as  of  women 

(345) 


P.  ■•■A   ^  t 


'  {       ""*  ^      w    '^jl 


11'  1 


ffl'Wp'lWl,  »• 


r- '.I 


liittfti 


r*      i^.jv 


346 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


and  children.  I  mentioned  that  I  have  been  obliged  to 
paint  them  according  to  rank,  as  they  looked  upon  the 
operation  as  a  very  great  honor,  which  I,  as  "  a  great  chief 
and  medicine-man,"  was  conferring  on  all  who  sat  to  me. 
Fortunate  it  was  for  me,  however,  that  the  honor  was  not 
a  sufficient  inducement  for  all  to  overcome  their  fears 
which  oflen  stood  in  the  way  of  their  consenting  to  be 
painted ;  for  if  all  had  been  willing  to  undergo  the  opera- 
tion, I  should  have  progressed  but  a  very  little  way  in  the 
^'■ranh  and  file^^  of  their  worthies;  and  should  have  had  to 
leave  many  discontented,  and  (as  they  would  think,  neg- 
lected. About  one  in  five  or  eight  was  willing  to  be 
painted,  and  the  rest  thought  they  would  be  much  more 
sure  of  "sleeping  quiet  in  their  graves"  after  they  were 
dead,  if  their  pictures  were  not  made.  By  this  lucky 
difficulty  I  got  great  relief,  and  easily  got  through  with 
those  vho  were  willing,  and  at  the  same  time  decided  by 
the  chiefs  to  be  worthy,  of  so  signal  an  honor. 

After  I  had  done  with  the  chiefs  and  braves,  and  pro- 
posed to  paint  a  few  of  the  women,  I  at  once  got  myself 
into  a  serious  perplexity,  being  heartily  laughed  at  by  the 
whole  tribe,  both  by  men  and  by  women,  for  my  exceeding 
and  (to  them)  unaccountable  condescension  in  seriously 
proposing  to  paint  a  woman ;  conferring  on  her  the  same 
honor  that  I  had  done  the  chiefs  and  braves.  Those  whom 
I  had  honored,  were  laughed  at  by  hundreds  of  the  jealous, 
who  had  been  ducidod  unworthy  the  distinction,  and  were 
now  amusing  themselves  with  the  very  enviable  honor  which 
the  great  white  medicine-man  had  conferred,  especially  on 
them,  and  was  now  to  confer  equally  upon  the  squaws! 

The  first  reply  that  I  received  from  those  whom  I  had 
painted,  was,  that  if  I  was  to  paint  women  and  children, 
the  sooner  I  destroyed  their  pictures,  the  better ;  for  I  had 
represented  to  them  that  I  wanted  their  pictures  to  exhibit 
to  white  chiefs,  to  shew  who  were  the  most  distinguished 
and  worthy  of  the  Sioux;  and  their  women  had  never 
taken  scalps,  nor  did  anything  bettor  than  make  fires  and 


1(1, a 

ii'f 
ill. I!' 


NOBin  AMERICAN  INDIANS, 


847 


dress  skins.  I  was  quite  awkward  in  this  dilemma,  in 
explaining  to  them  that  I  wanted  the  portraits  of  the 
\romen  to  hang  under  those  of  their  husbands,  merely  to 
shew  how  their  women  looked,  and  how  they  dressed,  without 
saying  any  more  of  them.  After  some  considerable  delay 
of  my  operations,  and  much  deliberation  on  the  subject, 
through  the  village,  I  succeeded  in  getting  a  number  of 
women's  portraits. 

The  vanity  of  these  men,  after  they  had  agreed  to  be 
painted  was  beyond  all  description,  and  far  surpassing  that 
which  is  oftentimes  immodest  onough  in  civilized  society, 
where  the  sitter  generally  leaves  the  picture,  when  it  is 
done  to  speak  for,  and  to  take  care  of  itself,  while  an 
Indian  often  lays  down,  from  morning  till  night,  in  front  of 
his  portrait,  admiring  his  own  beautiful  face,  and  faithfully 
guarding  it  from  day  to  day,  to  save  it  from  accident  or 
harm. 

This  watching  or  guarding  their  portraits,  I  have  observed 
during  all  of  my  travels  amongst  them  as  a  very  curious 
thing ;  and  in  many  instances,  where  my  colors  were  not 
dry,  and  subjected  to  so  many  accidents,  from  the  crowds 
who  were  gathering  about  them,  I  have  found  this  peculiar 
guardianship  of  essential  service  to  me — relieving  my  mind 
oftentimes  from  a  great  deal  of  anxiety. 

I  was  for  a  long  time  at  a  loss  for  the  true  cause  of  so  sin- 
gular a  peculiarity,  but  at  last  learned  that  it  was  owing  to 
their  superstitious  notion,  that  there  may  be  life  to  a  certain 
extent  in  the  picture  ;  and  that  if  harm  or  violence  be  done 
to  it,  it  may  in  some  mysterious  way,  affect  their  health  or 
do  them  other  injury. 

After  I  had  been  several  weeks  busily  at  work  with  my 
brush  in  this  village,  and  pretty  well  used  to  the  modes  of 
life  in  these  regions,  and  also  familiarly  acquainted  with 
all  the  officers  and  clerks  of  the  Establishment,  it  was  an- 
nounced one  day,  that  the  steamer  which  we  had  left,  was 
coming  in  the  river  below,  where  all  eyes  were  anxiously 
turned,  and  all   ears  were  listening;  when,  at  length,  we 


ai 


iflt 


Ml 


9    's. 


848 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  OX  THE 


discovered  the  puffing  of  her  steam ;  and  at  last  heard  the 
thundering  of  cannon,  which  were  being  fired  from  her 
deck. 

The  excitement  and  dismay  caused  amongst  six  thousand 
of  these  wild  people,  when  the  steamer  came  up  in  front 
of  their  village,  was  amusing  iu  the  extreme.  The  steamer 
was  moored  at  the  shore,  however ;  and  when  Mr.  Chouteau 
and  Major  Sanford,  their  old  friend  and  agent,  walked 
ashore,  it  seemed  to  restore  their  confidence  and  courage  • 
and  the  whole  village  gathered  in  front  of  the  boat,  with- 
out showing  much  further  amazement,  or  even  curiosity 
about  it. 

The  steamer  rested  a  week  or  two  at  this  place  before  she 
started  on  her  voyage  for  the  head-waters  of  the  Missouri  • 
during  which  time,  there  was  much  hilarity  and  mirth 
indulged  in  amongst  the  Indians,  as  well  as  with  the  hands 
employed  in  the  service  of  the  Fur  Company.  The 
appearance  of  a  steamer  in  this  wild  country  was  (loomed  a 
wonderful  occurrence,  and  the  time  of  her  presence  here 
looked  upon,  and  used  as  a  holiday.  Some  sharp  encoun- 
ters amongst  the  trappers,  who  come  in  here  from  the  raoun- 
tains,  loaded  with  packs  of  furs,  with  sinews  hardened  by 
long  exposure,  and  seemingly  impatient  for  vl  fight,  which  is 
soon  given  them  by  some  bullying  fisticuff-fellow,  who  steps 
forward  and  settles  the  matter  in  a  ring,  which  is  made 
and  strictly  preserved  for  fair  play,  until  hard  raps,  and 
bloody  noses,  and  blind  eyes  ^^ settle  the  hash,''^  and  satisfy  his 
trappership  to  lay  in  bed  a  week  or  two,  and  then  graduate, 
a  sober  and  a  civil  man. 

Amongst  the  Indians  we  have  had  numerous  sights  and 
amusements  to  entertain,  and  some  to  shock  us.  Shows  of 
dances — ball-plays — horse-racing — footracing,  and  wrest- 
ling in  abundance.  Feasting,  fasting,  and  prayers  we  have 
also  had ;  and  penance  and  tortures,  and  almost  every  thing 
short  of  self-immolation. 

Some  few  days  after  the  steamer  had  arrived,  it  was 
announced  that  a  grand  feast  was  to  be  given  to  the  great 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


849 


white  chiefs,  who  were  visitors  amongst  tbem ;  and  prepara- 
tions wore  made  accordingly  for  it.  The  two  chiefs  brought 
their  two  tents  together,  forming  thoin  into  a  semi-circle, 
enclosing  a  space  sufficiently  large  to  accommodate  one 
hundred  and  fifty  men ;  and  sat  down  with  that  number  of 
the  principal  chiefs  and  warriors  of  the  Sioux  nation ;  with 
Mr.  Chouteau,  Mr.  Sanford,  the  Indian  agent,  Mr.  M'Kenzie, 
and  myself,  whom  they  had  invited  in  due  time,  and  placed 
on  elevated  seats  in  iiie  centre  of  the  cro^  ^ent,  while  the  rest 
of  the  company  all  sat  upon  the  ground,  and  mostly  cross- 
legged,  preparatory  to  the  feast  being  dealt  out. 

In  the  centre  of  the  semi-circle  was  erected  a  flag-staff, 
on  which  was  waving  a  white  flag,  and  to  which  also  was 
tied  the  calumet,  both  expressive  of  their  friendly  feelings 
towards  us.  Near  the  foot  of  the  flag-staff  were  placed  in  a 
row  on  the  ground,  six  or  eight  kettles,  with  iron  covers 
on  them,  shutting  them  tight,  in  which  were  prepared  the 
viands  for  our  voluptuous  feast.  Near  the  kettles,  and  on 
the  ground  also,  bottomside  upwards,  were  a  number  of 
wooden  bowls,  in  which  the  meat  was  to  be  served  out. 
And  in  front,  two  or  three  men,  who  were  there  placed  as 
waiters,  to  light  the  pipos  for  smoking,  and  also  to  deal  out 
the  food. 

In  those  positions  things  stood,  and  all  sat,  with  thous- 
ands climbing  and  crowding  around,  for  a  peep  at  the 
grand  pageant  when  at  length,  Ha-wan-je-tah  (the  one  horn), 
head  chief  of  the  nation,  rose  in  front  of  the  Indian  agent, 
in  a  very  handsome  costume,  and  addressed  him  thus : — 
"  My  father,  I  am  glad  to  see  you  here  to-day — my  heart 
is  .ilways  glad  to  see  my  father  when  he  comes — our  great 
liitlicr,  who  sends  him  here  is  very  rich,  and  we  are  poor. 
Our  friend  Mr.  M'Kenzie,  who  is  here,  we  are  also  glad 
to  see ;  we  know  him  well,  and  we  shall  be  sorry  when  he 
ig  gone.  Our  friend  who  is  on  your  right-hand  we  all  know 
is  very  rich ;  and  we  have  heard  that  he  owns  the  great 
modioine-canoc  ;  he  is  a  good  man,  and  a  friend  to  the  red 
man.    Our  friend  the  White  Medicine,  who  sits  with  you,  we 


isir,t 


850 


LBTTEBS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


(lid  not  know — he  came  amongst  us  a  stranger,  and  he  has 
made  me  very  well — all  the  women  know  it,  and  think  it 
good ;  he  has  done  many  curious  things,  and  we  have  all 
been  pleased  with  him — he  has  made  us  much  amusement 
and  we  know  he  is  great  medicine. 

"My  father,  I  hope  you  will  have  pity  on  us,  we  are 
very  poor — we  offer  you  to-day,  not  the  best  that  we  have 
got;  for  we  have  a  plenty  of  good  buffiUo  hump  ^.^j 

marrow — but  we  give   you  our  hearts  in  th'g  feast we 

have  killed  our  faithful  dogs  to  feed  you — an^  the  Great 
Spirit  will  seal  our  friendship.    I  have  no  more  to  say." 

After  these  words  he  took  off  his  beautiful  war-ea^le 
head-dress — his  shirt  and  loggins — his  necklace  of  grizzly 
bears'  claws  and  his  moccasins ;  and  tying  them  together 
laid  them  gracefully  down  at  the  feet  of  the  agent  as  a 
present ;  and  laying  a  handsome  pipe  on  top  of  them,  he 
walked  around  into  an  adjoining  lodge,  where  he  got  a 
buffalo  robe  to  cover  his  shoulders,  and  returned  to  the 
feast,  taking  his  seat  which  he  had  before  occupied. 

Majoi  Sanford  then  rose  and  made  a  short  speech  in 
reply,  thanking  him  for  the  valuable  present  which  he  had 
made  him,  and  for  the  very  polite  and  impressive  manner 
in  which  it  had  been  done;  and  sent  to  the  steamer  for  a 
quantity  of  tobacco  and  other  presents,  which  were  given 
to  him  in  return.  After  this,  and  after  several  others  of 
the  chiefs  had  addressed  him  in  a  similar  manner;  and, 
like  the  first,  disrobed  themselves  and  thrown  their 
beautiful  costumes  at  his  feet,  one  of  the  three  men  in 
front  deliberately  lit  a  handsome  pipe,  and  brought  it  to 
IIa-\van-je-tah  to  smoke.  lie  took  it,  and  after  presenting 
the  stem  to  the  North — to  the  South — to  the  East,  and  the 
West — and  then  to  the  Sim  that  was  over  his  head,  and 
pronounced  the  words  "  How — how — how  I"  drew  a  whiil' 
or  two  of  smoke  through  it,  and  holding  the  bowl  of  it  in 
one  hand,  and  its  stem  in  the  other,  he  then  held  it  to  each 
of  our  mouths,  as  we  successively  smoked  it ;  after  which 
it  was  passed  around  through  the  whole  group,  who  all 


•I    .  I- 


U'l   f 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


351 


smoked  through  it,  or  as  far  as  its  contents  lasted,  when 
another  of  the  three  waiters  was  ready  with  a  second,  and 
at  length  a  third  one,  in  the  same  way,  which  lasted 
through  the  hands  of  the  whole  number  of  guests.  This 
smoking  was  conducted  with  the  strictest  adherence  to 
exact  and  established  form,  and  the  feast  the  whole  way, 
to  the  most  positive  silence.  After  the  pipe  is  charged, 
and  is  being  lit,  until  the  time  that  the  chief  has  drawn 
the  smoke  through  it,  it  is  considered  an  evil  omen  for  any 
one  to  speak ;  and  if  any  one  break  silence  in  that  time, 
even  in  a  whisper,  the  pipe  is  instantly  dropped  by  the 
chief,  and  their  superstition  is  such,  that  they  would  not 
dare  to  use  it  on  this  occasion ;  but  another  one  is  called 
for  and  used  in  its  stead.  If  there  is  no  accident  of  the 
kind  during  the  smoking,  the  waiters  then  proceed  to 
distribute  the  meat,  which  is  soon  devoured  in  the  feast. 

In  this  case  the  lids  were  raised  from  the  kettles,  which 
were  all  filled  with  dog's  meat  alone.  It  being  well- 
cooked,  and  made  into  a  sort  of  a  stew,  sent  forth  a  very 
savoury  and  pleasing  smell,  promising  to  be  an  acceptable 
and  palatable  food.  Each  of  us  civilized  guests  had  a  large 
wooden  bowl  placed  before  us,  with  a  huge  quantity  of 
dogs'  flesh  floating  in  a  profusion  of  soup,  or  rich  gravy, 
.  with  a  large  spoon  resting  in  the  dish,  made  of  the  buffalo's 
horn.  In  this  most  difficult  and  painful  dilemma  we  sat ; 
all  of  us  knowing  the  solemnity  and  good  feeling  in  which 
it  was  given,  and  the  absolute  necessity  of  falling  to,  and 
devouring  a  little  of  it.  We  all  tasted  it  a  few  times,  and 
resigned  our  dishes,  which  were  quite  willingly  taken,  and 
passed  around  with  others,  to  every  part  of  the  group,  who 
all  ate  heartily  of  the  delicious  viands,  which  were  soon 
dipped  out  of  the  kettles,  and  entirely  devoured ;  after 
which  each  one  arose  as  he  felt  disposed,  and  walked  off 
without  uttering  a  word.  In  this  way  the  feast  ended,  and 
all  retired  silently,  and  gradually,  until  the  ground  was 
left  vacant  to  the  charge  of  the  waiters  or  officers,  who 
seemed  to  have  charge  of  it  during  the  whole  occasion. 


852 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


Tills  feast  was  unquestionably  given  to  us,  as  the  most 
uniloubted  evidence  they  could  .rive  us  of  their  friendship- 
and  we,  who  knew  the  spirit  and  feeling  in  which  it  was 
given,  could  not  but  treat  it  respectfully,  and  receive  it  as  a 
very  higli  and  marked  compliment. 

Since  I  witnessed  it  on  this  occasion,  I  have  been 
honored  with  numerous  entertainments  of  the  kind  amon<Tst 
the  tribes,  which  I  have  visited  towards  the  sources  of 
the  Missouri,  and  all  conducted  in  the  same  solemn  and 
impressive  manner ;  from  which  I  feel  authorized  to  i)ro- 
nounoe  the  dog-/-ast  a  truly  religious  '>"remony,  wherein 
the  poor  Indian  sees  fit  to  sacrifice  his  faithful  companion 
to  bear  testimony  to  the  sacredness  of  his  vows  of  friend- 
ship, and  invite  his  friend  to  partake  of  its  flesh,  to  remind 
him  forcibly  of  the  reality  of  the  sacrifice,  and  the  solemnity 
of  his  professions. 

The  dog,  amongst  all  Indian  tribes,  is  more  esteemed 
and  I.  ore  valued  than  amongst  any  part  of  the  civilized 
world;  the  Indian  who  has  more  time  to  devote  to  his 
company,  and  whose  untutored  mind  more  nearly  assimi- 
lates to  that  of  his  faithful  servant,  keeps  hini  closer 
company,  and  draws  him  nearer  to  his  heart ;  they  hunt 
together,  and  are  equal  sharers  in  the  chase — their  bed  is 
one ;  and  on  the  rocks,  and  on  their  coats  of  arms  they 
carve  his  image  as  the  symbol  of  fidelity.  Yet,  with  all 
of  these  he  will  end  his  allcction  with  tliis  faithful  follower, 
and  with  tears  in  his  eyes,  offer  him  as  a  sacrifice  to  seal  the 
pledge  he  has  made  to  man  ;  because  a  feast  of  venison,  or 
of  buffalo  meat,  is  what  is  due  to  every  one  who  enters  an 
Indian's  wigwam  ;  and  of  course,  conveys  but  a  passive  or 
neutral  evidence,  that  generally  goes  for  nothing. 

I  have  .«at  at  many  of  these  feasts,  and  never  could  but 
appreciate  the  moral  and  solemnity  of  them.  I  have  seen 
the  master  take  from  the  bowl  the  head  of  his  victim,  and 
descant  on  its  former  affection  and  fidelity  with  tears  in 
his  eyes.  And  I  have  seen  guests  at  the  same  time  by  the 
side  of  me,  jesting  and  sneering  at  the  poor  Indian's  folly 


NORTH  AMERICAN   INDIANS. 


853 


and  stupidity;  and  I  Imvo  said  in  my  heart,  that  they 
never  deaervcd  a  name  so  good  or  so  honorable  as  that  of 
the  poor  animal  whose  bones  they  were  picking. 

At  the  feast  which  I  have  been  describing  above,  each 
of  us  tasted  a  little  of  the  meat,  and  passed  the  dishes  on  to 
the  Indians,  who  eoon  demolished  everything  they  con- 
tained. Wo  all  agreed  that  the  meat  was  well  cooked,  iv  1 
bccmed  to  be  well-flavored  and  palatable  food;  and  no 
doubt,  could  have  been  eaten  with  a  good  relish,  if  wc  had 
been  hungry,  and  ignorant  of  the  nature  of  the  food  wo 
were  eating. 

The  flesh  of  these  dogs,  though  apparently  relished  by 
the  Indians,  is,  undoubtedly  inferior  to  the  venison  and 
buffalo's  meat,  of  which  feasts  are  constantly  made  where 
friends  are  invited,  as  they  are  in  civilized  society,  to  a 
pleasant  and  convivial  party;  from  which  fact  alone,  it 
would  seem  clear,  that  they  have  some  extraordinary 
motive,  at  all  events,  for  feasting  on  the  flesh  of  that 
useful  and  faithful  animal ;  even  when,  as  in  the  instance 
I  have  been  describing,  their  village  is  well  supplied  with 
fresh  and  dried  meat  of  the  buffalo.  The  dog-feast  is 
given,  I  believe,  by  all  tribes  in  North  America ;  and  by 
them  all,  I  think,  this  faithful  animal,  as  well  as  the  horse, 
is  sacrificed  in  several  different  way*,  to  appease  offended 
Spirits  or  Deities,  whom  it  is  considered  necessary  that 
they  should  conciliate  in  this  way;  and  when  done,  is 
invariably  done  by  giving  the  beat  in  the  h  id  or  the 
keunel. 


IT 

I  ilk 


ii 


il 


^<\ 


MUim 


LETTER  No.  XXIX. 

MOUTH  OF  TETON  RIVER,  UPPER  MISSOUItL 

Another  curious  ancl  disgusting  scene  I  witnessed  in 
the  after  part  of  the  day  on  which  we  were  honored  with 
the  dog  feast.  In  tliis  I  took  no  part,  but  was  suHlciently 
near  to  it,  when  standing  some  rods  off"  and  witnessing 
the  cruel  operation.  I  was  called  upon  by  one  of  the 
clerks  in  the  Establishment  to  ride  up  a  mile  or  so,  near 
the  banks  of  the  Teton  River,  in  a  little  plane  at  the  base 
of  the  bluff?!,  where  were  grouped  some  fifteen  or  twenty 
lodges  of  the  Ting-ta-to-ah  band,  to  sec  a  man  (as  they  sai<l) 
^^looking  at  the  s'/?( !"  Wo  found  him  naked,  except  his 
brecch-cloth,  with  splints  or  skewers  run  through  tlie  flesh 
on  both  breasts,  leaning  back  and  hanging  with  the  weight 
of  his  body  to  the  top  of  a  pole  which  was  fastened  in  tlie 
ground,  and  to  the  upper  end  of  which  he  was  fastened  by 
a  cord  which  was  tied  to  the  splints.  In  this  position  he 
was  leaning  back,  with  nearly  the  whole  weight  of  his 
body  hanging  to  the  pole,  the  top  of  which  was  bent  for- 
(354) 


'^i  I 


NORTH  AMERICAN   INDIANS. 


855 


ward,  allowing  his  body  to  sink  about  half-way  to  tho 
ground.     ITis  feet  were  still  upon  tho  ground,  supporting 
a  small  part  of  his  weight;  and  he  held  in  his  left  hand  his 
favorite  bow,  and  in  his  right,   with  a  desperate  grip,  his 
medicine-bag.     In  this  condition,  with  the  blood  trickling 
down  over  his  body,  which  was  covered  with  white  and 
yellow  clay,  and  amidst  a  great  crowd  who  were  looking 
on,  sympathizing  and   encouraging  him,  he  was  hanging 
and  "looking  at  the  sun,"  without  paying  tho  least  atten- 
tion to  any  one  about  him.     In   the  group  that  was  re- 
clining around   him,    were   several   mystery-men  beating 
their  drums  and  shaking  their  rattles,  and  singing  as  loud 
as  they  could  yell,  to  encourage  him  and  strengthen  his 
heart  to  stand  and  look  at  tho  sun,  from  its  rising  in  the 
morning  until  its  setting  at  night  at  which  time,  if  his  heart 
and  his  strength  have  not  fiiilcd  him,  he  is  "  cut  down," 
receives  the  liberal  donation  of  presents  (which  have  been 
thrown  into  a  pile  before  him  during  the  day),  and  also  tho 
name  and   tho   style   of  a  doctor,  or  medicine-man,  which 
lasts  him,  and  ensures  him  respect,  through  life. 

This  most  extraordinary  and  cruel  custom  I  never 
hc.'ird  of  amongst  any  other  tribe,  and  never  saw  an 
instance  of  it  before  or  after  the  one  I  have  just  named.  It 
is  a  sort  of  worship,  or  penance,  of  great  cruelty;  disgust- 
ing and  painful  to  behold,  with  only  one  palliative  circum- 
stance about  it,  which  is,  that  it  is  a  voluntar}'  torture  and 
of  a  very  rare  occurrence.  The  poor  and  ignorant,  mis- 
guided and  superstitious  man  who  undertakes  it,  puts  his 
everlasting  reputation  at  stake  upon  the  issue;  for  when 
he  takes  his  stand,  he  expects  to  face  the  sun  and  gradually 
turn  his  body  in  listless  silence,  till  he  sees  it  go  down  at 
night;  and  if  he  ftxints  and  falls,  of  which  there  is  immi- 
nent danger,  he  loses  his  reputation  as  a  brave  or  mystery- 
man,  and  sufiers  a  signal  disgrace  in  the  estimation  of  the 
tribe,  like  all  men  who  hay  e  the  presumption  to  set  them- 
selves up  for  braves  or  mystery-men,  and  fail  justly  to 
sustain  the  character. 


lU..^    J 


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Siii 

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n 


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8'6 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


The  SiouK  seem  to  have  many  modes  of  worshipping  tlie 
Groat  or  Good  Spirit,  and  also  of  conciliating  the  Evil 
Spirit:  they  have  numerous  fasts  and  feasts,  and  many 
modes  of  sacrificing,  but  yet  they  seem  to  pay  less  strict 
attention  to  them  than  the  Mandans  do,  which  may  perhaps 
be  owing  in  a  great  measure  to  the  wandering  and  preda- 
tory modes  of  life  which  they  pursue,  rendering  it  dilTicult 
to  adhere  so  rigidly  to  the  strict  form  and  letter  of  their 
customs. 

There  had  been,  a  few  days  before  I  arrived  at  this  place, 
a  great  medicine  operation  held  on  the  prairie,  a  mile  or  so 
back  of  the  Fort,  and  which,  of  course,  I  was  not  lucky 
cnouerh  to  see.  The  poles  were  still  standing,  and  the 
whole  transaction  was  described  to  me  by  my  friend  Mr. 
ILilsey,  one  of  the  clerks  in  the  P^stablishmcnt.  From  the 
account  given  of  it,  it  seems  to  bear  some  slight  resem- 
blance to  that  of  the  Mandcin  religious  ceremony,  but  no 
nearer  to  it  than  a  feeble  eftort  by  so  ignorant  and  super- 
stitious a  people,  to  copy  a  custom  which  they  mo.st 
probably  have  had  no  opportunity  to  see  themselves,  but 
have  endeavored  to  imitate  from  hearsay.  They  had  an 
awning  of  immense  size  erected  on  the  prairie  which  is  yet 
standing,  made  of  willow  bushes  supported  In'  posts,  with 
poles  and  willow  bouglis  laid  over;  under  the  centre  of 
wliich  there  was  a  pule  .set  firmly  in  tlie  ground,  from 
which  many  of  the  young  men  had  suspended  their  bodies 
by  splints  run  througli  the  flesh  in  ditVerent  parts,  the 
numerous  scars  of  which  were  yet  seen  bleeding  afresh 
from  day  to  day,  amongst  the  crowds  that  were  abuut  nie. 

During  my  stay  amongst  the  Sioux,  as  I  was  considered 
by  them  to  bo  great  o/iedicinc,  I  received  many  pipes  and 
other  I'ttle  things  fnuu  them  as  presents,  given  to  me  in 
token  of  respect  {'or  mo,  and  as  assurances  of  their  friend- 
ship; and  I,  being  desirous  to  collect  and  bring  from  their 
country  every  variety  of  their  nuinufacturea,  of  their  co.s- 
tumes,  their  weapon.s,  their  pipes,  and  their  my.stery  things, 
piireha.sed    a    great    many   otiiers,  for   wh-'^h,  as    I  was 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


357 


"medicine"  and  a  "great  white  chief  I"  I  was  necessarily 
obliged  to  pay  very  liberal  prices. 

The  luxury  of  smoking  is  known  to  all  the  North 
American  Indians,  in  their  primitive  state,  and  that  before 
they  have  any  knowledge  of  tobacco ;  which  is  only  intro- 
duced amongst  them  by  civilized  adventurers,  who  teach 
them  the  use  and  luxury  of  whisky  at  the  same  time. 

In  their  native  state  they  arc  excessive  smokers,  and 
many  of  them  (I  would  almost  venture  the  assertion),  would 
seem  to  be  smoking  one-half  of  their  lives.  There  may  be 
two  good  reasons  for  this,  the  first  of  which  is,  that  the  idle 
and  leisure  life  that  the  Indian  leads,  (who  has  no  trade  or 
business  to  follow — no  olTice  hours  to  attend  to,  or  pro- 
fession to  learn),  induces  him  to  look  for  occupation  and 
uinuscmoiit  in  so  innocent  a  luxury,  which  again  further 
tempts  him  to  its  excessive  use,  from  its  feeble  and  harm- 
less effects  on  the  system.  Tliere  are  many  weeds  and 
loaves,  and  barks  of  trees,  which  are  narcotics,  and  of 
spontaneous  growth  in  their  countries,  which  the  Indians 
tlry  and  pulverize,  and  carry  in  pouches  and  smoke  to 
great  excess — and  which  in  several  of  the  languages,  when 
thus  prepared,  is  called  k''nick  k'nech. 

As  smoking  is  a  luxury  so  highly  valued  by  the  Indians 
tliey  have  bestowed  much  pains,  and  not  a  little  ingenuity, 
to  the  constructions  of  their  pipes.  The  bowls  of  these  are 
generally  made  of  red  steatite,  or  "pipe  stone"  (as  it  is 
more  familiarly  called  in  this  country),  and  many  of  them 
designed  and  carved  wifh  much  taste  and  skill,  with 
figures  and  groups  in  alto  relievo^  standing  or  reclining 
upon  them. 

The  red  stone  of  which  these  pipe  bowls  are  made,  is,  in 
my  estimation,  a  great  curiosity ;  inasmuch  as  I  am  sure  it 
is  a  variety  of  steatite  (if  it  bo  steatite),  differing  from  that 
of  any  known  l^uropoun  locality,  and  also  from  any 
locality  known  in  America,  other  than  the  one  from  which 
all  these  pipes  come ;  and  which  are  all  traceable  I  have 
found   to  one  source ;  and   that   source  as  yet   un visited 


f 


358 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


except  by  tlie  rcil  man  who  describes  it,  everywhere,  as  a 
place  of  vast  importance  to  the  Indians — as  given  to  them 
by  the  Great  Spirit,  for  their  pipes,  and  strictly  forbidden 
to  be  used  for  anything  else. 

The  source  from  whence  all  these  pipes  come  is 
undoubtedly,  somewhere  between  this  place  and  the  Mis- 
sissippi River ;  and  as  the  Indians  all  speak  of  it  as  a  groat 
mcdicine-])lacc,  I  shall  certainly  lay  my  course  to  it  ero 
l(;ng,  and  be  able  to  give  the  v/orld  some  account  of  it  and 
its  mysteries. 

The  Indians  shape  out  the  bowls  of  these  pipes  from  the 
solid  stone,  which  is  not  quite  as  hard  as  marble,  with 
iiotliing  but  a  knife.  The  stone  which  is  of  a  cherry  rod 
admits  of  a  beautiful  polish,  and  the  Indian  makes  the  liolo 
in  the  bowl  of  the  pipe,  by  drilling  into  it  a  hard  stick 
sliaped  to  the  desired  size,  with  a  quantity  of  sharp  , sand 
and  water  kept  constantly  in  the  hole,  subjecting  him 
therefore  to  a  very  great  labor  and  the  necessity  of  much 
patience. 


The  shafts  or  stems  of  these  pipes,  arc  from  two  to  four 
foet  long,  sometimes  round,  but  mo.-t  generally  flat;  ofau 
inch  or  two  in  breadth,  and  wound  half  their  length  or 
more  with  braids  of  porcupine's  quills;  and  often  orna- 
mented with  the  beaks  and  tufts  from  the  wooil-pccker's 
head,  with  ermine  skins  and  long  red  hair,  dyed  from 
whitu  horse  hair  or  tlie  wliite  buffalo's  tail. 

The  stems  of  tliese  pipes  will  be  fjund  to  be  carved  iu 
/nany  ingenious  forms,  and  in  all  cases  they  are  perforated 
through  the  centre,  quite  staggering  the  wits  of  the  en- 
lightened world  to  yticsa  h'jic  the   holes    have  been  bored 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


859 


througli  them ;  until  it  is  simply  and  briefly  explained, 
that  the  stems  are  uniformly  made  of  the  stalk  of  the 
young  ash,  which  generally  grows  straight,  and  has  a 
small  pith  through  the  centre,  which  is  easily  burned  out 
with  a  hot  wire ;  or  a  piece  of  hard  wood,  by  a  much  slower 
process. 

The  calumet,  or  pipe  of  peace  ornamented  with  the  war- 
eagle's  quills,  is  a  sacred  pipe,  and  never  allowed  to  be 
used  on  any  other  occasion  than  that  of  peace-making', 
when  the  chief  brings  it  into  treaty,  and  unfolding  the 
many  bandages  which  are  carefully  kept  around  it — has  it 
read}''  to  be  mutually  smoked  by  the  chiefs,  after  the  terms 
of  the  treaty  are  agreed  upon,  as  the  means  of  solemnizing 
or  signing,  by  an  illiterate  people,  who  cannot  draw  up  an 
instrument,  and  sign  their  names  to  it,  as  it  is  done  in  the 
civilized  world. 

The  mode  of  solemnizing  is  by  passing  the  sacred  stem 
to  each  chief,  who  draws  one  breath  of  smoke  only  through 
it,  thereby  passing  the  most  inviolable  pledge  that  they 
can  possibly  give,  for  the  keeping  of  the  peace.  This 
sacred  pipe  is  then  carefully  folded  up,  and  stowed  away 
in  the  chief's  lodge,  until  a  similar  occasion  calls  it  out  to 
be  used  in  a  similar  manner. 

The  weapons  of  these  people,  like  their  pipes,  ,iro 
numerous,  and  mostly  manufactured  by  themselves.  Iii  a 
former  place  I  have  described  a  part  of  these,  such  a 3  the 
bows  and  arrows,  lances,  &c.,  and  they  have  yet  many 
otherri,  specimens  of  which  I  have  collected  fr...i^.  every 
tribe. 

The  scalping-knivcs  and  tomahawks  are  of  civilized 
manufacture,  made  expressly  for  Indian  use,  and  carried 
into  the  Indian  country  by  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands, 
and  sold  at  an  enormous  price.  The  scabbards  of  the 
knives  and  handles  for  the  tomahawks,  the  Indians  con- 
struct themselves,  according  to  their  own  taste,  and  often- 
times ornament  them  very  handsomely.  In  his  rude  and 
unapproached  condition,  the  Indian  is  a  stranger  to  such 


*1  ^-i     1 


ft,  I   ^    '* 


«' 


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hi 


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:    I 


■.■fc  ..in 


— ^■:|. 


360 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES   ON  THE 


weapons  as  these — he  works  not  ia  the  metals;  and  his 
untutored  mind  has  not  been  ingenious  enough  to  design 
or  execute  anything  so  savage  or  destructive  as  these 
civilized  refinements  on  Indian  barbarity.  In  his  native 
simplicity  he  shapes  out  his  rude  hatchet  from  a  piece  of 
stone,  heads  his  arrows  and  spears  'inth  flints ;  and  his 
knife  is  a  sharpened  bone,  or  the  edge  of  a  broken  silex. 
The  war-club  is  also  another  civilized  refinement,  with  a 
blade  of  steel,  of  eight  or  ten  inches  in  length,  and  set  in 
a  club,  studded  around  and  ornamented  with  some 
hundreds  of  brass  nails. 

Their  primitive  clubs  are  curiously  carved  in  wood,  and 
fashioned  out  with  some  considerable  picturesque  form  and 
grace ;  arc  admirably  fitted  to  the  hand,  and  calculated  to 
deal  a  deadly  blow  with  the  spike  of  iron  or  bono  whioh 
is  imbedded  in  the  ball  or  bulb  at  the  end. 

Two  of  the  tomahawks  that  I  have  named,  are  what  are 
denominated  "  pipe-tomahawks,"  as  the  heads  of  them  are 
formed  into  bowls  like  a  pipe,  in  which  their  tobacco  is 
put,  and  they  smoke  through  the  handle.  These  are  the 
most  valued  of  an  Indian's  weapons,  inasmuch  as  they  are 
a  matter  of  luxury,  and  useful  for  cutting  his  fire-wood,  &c. 
in  time  of  peace ;  and  deadly  weapons  in  time  of  war, 
which  they  use  in  the  hand,  or  throw  with  unerring  aud 
deadly  aim. 

Tlie  scalping-knifo  in  a  beautiful  scabbard,  which  is 
carried  under  the  belt,  is  the  form  of  knife  most  generally 
used  in  all  parts  of  the  Indian  country,  where  knives  have 
been  introduced.  It  is  a  common  and  cheap  butcher  knife 
with  one  edge,  manufactured  at  Shefiield,  in  England, 
perhaps  for  sixpence ;  and  sold  to  the  poor  Indian  in  these 
wild  regions  for  a  horse!  If  I  should  live  to  get  home, 
and  should  ever  cross  the  Atlantic  with  my  Collection,  a 
curious  enigma  would  be  solved  for  the  English  people, 
who  may  enquire  f)r  a  S(!alping-knifo,  when  they  find  that 
every  one  in  my  Collection  (and  here  also,  that  nearly 
every  one  that  is  to  be  seen  in  the  Indian  country,  to  tho 


\ 


«  «■ 


•*.    > 


f% 


« 


T/ji*-. 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


861 


Kocky  Mountains  and  the  Pacific  Ocean)  bears  on  its  blade 
the  impress  of  G.  E.,  which  they  will  doubtless  understand. 

The  above  weapons,  as  well  as  the  bow  and  lance,  of 
which  I  have  before  spoken,  are  all  carried  and  used  on 
horseback  with  great  effect.  The  Indians  in  this  country 
of  green  fields,  all  ride  for  their  enemies,  and  also  for  their 
game,  which  is  almost  invariably  killed  whilst  their  horses 
are  at  full-speed.  They  are  all  cruel  masters  for  their 
horses;  and.  in  war  or  the  chase,  goad  them  on  with  a 
heavy  and  cruel  whip,  the  handle  of  which  is  generally 
made  of  a  large  prong  of  the  elk's  horn  or  of  wood,  and 
the  lashes  of  rawhide  are  very  heavy  ;  being  braided,  or 
twisted,  or  cut  into  wide  straps.  These  are  invariably 
attached  to  the  wrist  of  the  right  arm  by  a  tough  thong, 
so  that  they  can  be  taken  up  and  used  at  any  moment, 
and  dropped  the  next,  without  being  lost. 

During  the  time  that  I  was  engaged  in  painting  my 
portraits,  I  was  occasionall}''  inducing  the  young  men  to 
give  me  their  dances,  a  great  variety  of  which  they  gave 
me  by  being  slightly  paid;  which  I  was  glad  to  do,  in 
order  to  enable  me  to  study  their  character  and  expression 
thoroughly,  which  I  am  sure  I  have  done ;  and  I  shall  take 
pleasure  in  shewing  them  to  the  world  when  I  get  back. 
The  dancing  is  generally  done  by  the  young  men,  and 
considered  undignified  for  the  chiefs  or  doctors  to  join  in. 
Yet  so  great  was  my  medicine,  that  chiefs  and  medicine' 
men  turned  out  and  agreed  to  compliment  me  with  a  dance. 
I  looked  on  with  great  satisfaction;  having  been  assured 
by  the  Interpreters  and  Traders,  that  this  was  the  highest 
honor  they  had  ever  known  them  to  pay  to  any  stranger 
amongst  them. 

In  this  dance,  which  I  have  called  "  the  dance  of  the 
chiefs,"  for  want  of  a  more  significant  title,  was  given  by 
fifteen  or  twenty  chiefs  and  doctors ;  many  of  whom  were 
very  old  and  venerable  men.  All  of  them  cs,me  out  in 
their  bead-dresse3  of  war-eagle  quills,  with  a  spear  or  staff 
in  the  left  hand,  and  a  rattle  in  the  right.    It  was  given  in 


|i 


't-^ 


\^^ 


862 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


the  midst  of  the  Sioux  village,  in  front  of  the  head  chief's 
lodge ;  and  beside  the  medicine-men  who  beat  on  the 
drum,  and  sang  for  the  dance,  there  were  four  younf» 
women  standing  in  a  row,  and  chanting  a  sort  of  choru3 
for  the  dancers ;  forming  one  of  the  very  few  instances 
that  I  ever  have  met,  where  the  women  are  allowed  to  take 
any  part  in  the  dancing,  or  other  game  or  amusement,  with 
the  men. 

This  dance  was  a  very  spirited  thing,  and  pleased  me 
much,  as  well  as  all  the  village,  who  were  assembled 
around  to  witness  what  most  of  them  never  before  had 
seen,  their  aged  and  venerable  chiefs  united  in  giving  a 
dance. 

As  I  have  introduced  the  scalping-knife  above,  it  may  be 
well  for  me  to  give  some  further  account  in  this  place  of 
the  custom  and  the  mode  of  taking  the  scalp ;  a  custom 
practiced  by  all  the  Nortli  American  Indian^.,  which  is 
done  when  an  enemy  is  killed  in  battle,  by  grasping  the 
left  hand  into  the  hair  on  the  crown  of  the  head,  and 
passing  the  knife  around  it  through  the  skin,  tearing  off  a 
piece  of  the  skin  with  the  hair,  as  large  as  the  palm  of  the 
hand,  or  larger,  which  is  dried,  and  often  curiously  orna- 
mented and  preserved,  and  highly  valued  as  a  trophy. 
The  scalpling  is  an  operation  not  calculated  of  itself  to  take 
life,  as  it  only  removes  the  skin,  without  injuring  the  bone 
of  the  head  ;  and  necessarily,  to  be  a  genuine  scalp,  must 
contain  and  show  the  crown  or  centre  of  the  head;  that 
part  of  the  skin  which  lies  directly  over  what  the  phre- 
nologists call  "  self-esteem,"  where  the  hair  divides  and 
radiates  from  the  centre ;  of  which  they  all  profess  to  be 
strict  judges,  and  able  to  decide  whether  an  effort  has  been 
m;ide  to  produce  two  or  more  scalps  from  one  head. 
Besides  taking  the  scalp,  the  victor  generally,  if  he  has 
time  to  do  it  without  endangering  his  own  scalp,  cuts  off 
and  brings  home  the  rest  of  the  hair,  which  his  wife  will 
divide  into  a  great  many  small  locks,  and  with  them  fringe 
off  the  seams  of  his  shirt  and  his  leggings,  which  also  are 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


863 


yfonx  as  trophies  and  ornaments  to  the  dress,  and  then  are 
familiarly  called  "  acalp-locka."  Of  these  there  are  many 
dresses  in  my  Collection,  which  exhibit  a  continuous  row 
from  the  top  of  each  shoulder,  down  the  arms  to  the  wrists, 
and  down  the  seams  of  the  leggings,  from  the  hips  to  the 
feet,  rendering  them  a  very  costly  article  to  buy  from  the 
Indian,  who  is  not  sure  tliat  his  success  in  his  military 
exploits  will  over  enable  him  to  replace  them. 

The  scalp,  then,  is  a  patch  of  the  skin  taken  from  the 
head   of  an  enemy  killed  in   battle,  and  preserved  and 
highly  appreciated  as  the  record  of  a  death  produced  by 
the  hand  of  the  individual  who  possesses  it ;  and  may 
oftentimes  during  his  life,  be  of  great  service  to  a  man 
living  in  a  community  where  there  is  no  historian  to  enrol 
the  names  of  the  famous — to  record  the  heroic  deeds  of  the 
brave,  who  have  gained  their  laurels  in  mortal  combat  with 
their  enemies ;  where  it  is  as  lawful  and  as  glorious  to  slay 
an  enemy  in  battle,  as  it  is  in  Christian  communities,  and 
where  the  poor  Indian  is  bound  to  keep  the  record  himself, 
or  be  liable  to  lose  it  and  the  honor,  for  no  one  in  the  tribe 
will  keep  it  for  him.     As  the  scalp  is  taken  then  as  the 
evidence  of  a  death,  it  will  easily  be  seen,  that  the  Indian 
has  no  business  or  inclination  to  take  it  from  the  head  of 
the  living ;  which  I  venture  to  say  is  never  done  in  North 
America,  unless  it  be,  as  it  sometimes  has  happened,  where 
a  man  falls  in  the  heat  of  battle,  stunned  with  the  blow  of 
a  weapon  or  a  gunshot,  and  the  Indian,  rushing  over  his 
body,   snatches  off  his   scalp,  supposing  him  dead,  who 
afterwards    rises    from  the    field    of   battle,    and    easily 
recovers  from  this  superficial  wound  of  the  knife,  wearing 
a  bald  spot  on  his  head  during  the  remainder  of  his  life,  of 
which   we  have    freiiueut  occurrences  on    our  Western 
frontiers.    The  scalp  must  be  from  the  head  of  an  enemy 
also,  or  it  subjects  its  possessor  to  disgrace  and  infamy  who 
carries  it.     There  may  be  many  instances  where  an  Indian 
is  justified  in  the  estimation  of  his  tribe  in  taking  the  life 
of  one  of  his  own  people ;  and  their  laws  are  such,  ua 


S64 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


;^«- 


oftentimes  make  it  his  imperative  duty ;  and  yet  no  circum- 
stances,  however  aggravating,  will  justify  him  or  rolcuse 
him  from  the  disgrace  of  taking  the  scalp. 

Thorc  i  no  custom  practiced  by  the  Indians,  for  which 
they  are  more  universally  condemned,  than  that  of  taking 
the  scalp;  nnd,  at  the  same  time,  I  think  there  ia  surno 
excuse  for  them,  inasmuch  as  it  is  a  general  custom  of  tlio 
countr-',  and  founded,  like  many  other  apparently  al  surd 
and  r  Jiculous  customs  of  these  people,  in  one  of  the 
necessities  (•''  Indian  life,  which  necessities  we  are  free  from 
in  the  civiL/.ed  worhl,  and  which  customs,  of  course,  wo 
need  not  and  ilo  noi  practice.  From  an  ancient  custom 
'■  lie  out  of  mind,"  the  w  rriors  of  thc>o  tribes  have  been 
in  the  habit  of  going  to  war,  expecting  to  take  the  scalps 
of  their  eueicies  whom  they  may  slay  in  battle,  and  all 
eyes  of  the  tribe  are  upon  them,  making  it  their  duty  to  do 
it;  so  from  custom  it  is  every  man's  right,  and  liis  duty 
also,  to  CO  itinue  and  koep  up  a  regulation  of  his  society 
whicli  it  is  not  in  his  power  as  an  individual,  to  abolish  or 
correct,  if  he  saw  tit  to  do  it. 

One  of  the  pi-iiicipal  denunciations  against  the  customs 
of  'taking  the  sc.dp,  is  on  account  of  its  alleged  cruelty, 
whicli  it  cortuinly  has  not :  as  the  criidty  would  be  in  tlio 
killing,  and  not  in  the  act  of  cutting  the  skin  from  a  man's 
head  after  he  is  dead.  To  say  the  most  of  it,  it  is  a  dis- 
gusting custom,  and  '  wish  I  could  bo  quite  sure  that  the 
civilized  and  Christian  world  (who  kill  hundreds,  to  where 
the  poor  Indians  kill  one),  do  not  often  treat  their  enemies 
dead,  in  equally  as  indecent  and  disgusting  a  manner,  as 
the  Indian  does  by  taking  the  scalp. 

If  the  reader  thinks  that  I  am  taking  too  much  pains  to 
defend  the  Indians  for  this,  and  others  of  th(dr  seemingly 
abominable  customs,  he  will  bear  it  in  mind,  that  I  have 
lived  with  these  people,  until  I  have  learned  the  necessities 
of  Indian  life  in  which  these  customs  arc  founded;  and 
also,  that  I  have  met  with  so  many  acts  of  kindness  and 
hospitality  at  the  hands  of  the  poor  Indian,  that  I  feel 


If.  -P 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


865 


bound,  when  I  can  do  it,  to  render  what  excuse  I  can  for 
a  pcoplo,  who  are  dying  with  bn^kcn  hearts,  and  never  can 
speak  in  the  civilized  worhi  in  their  own  defence. 

And  oven  yet,  reader,  if  your  education,  and  your 
reading  of  Indian  cruelties  and  "^nuian  barbarities — of 
scalps,  and  scalping-knives',  and  scalping,  should  liavo 
osssified  a  corner  of  your  heart  against  these  unforti'iato 
people,  and  would  shut  out  their  advocate,  I  will  uinuy 
you  no  longer  on  this  subject,  but  withdraw,  and  1  von 

to  cherish  the  very  beautiful,  humane  and  parenta  \\ 

that  was  carried  out  by  the  United  States  and  ijiitish 
Governments  during  the  last,  and  the  revolutionary  war.«, 
when  they  mutually  employed  thousands  of  their  "  Bed 
children"  to  aid  and  to  bleed,  in  fighting  their  battles,  and 
paid  them,  according  to  contract,  so  many  pounds,  shillings 
and  pence  or  so  many  dollars  and  cents  for  every  "  scalji'^ 
of  a  "  red"  or  a  "  blue  coat"  they  could  bring  in! 

The  most  usual  way  of  preparing  and  dressing  the  scalp 
is  that  of  stretching  it  on  a  little  hoop  at  the  end  of  a  stick 
two  or  three  feet  long,  for  the  purpose  of  "  dancing  it,"  as 
as  they  term  it ;  which  will  be  described  in  the  scalp-dance, 
in  a  few  moments.  There  are  many  again,  which  are 
small,  and  not  "dressed;"  sometimes  not  larger  than  a 
crown  piece,  and  hung  to  different  parts  of  the  dress.  In 
public  shows  and  parades,  they  are  often  suspended  from 
the  bridle  bits  or  halter  when  they  are  paraded  and  carried 
as  trophies.  Sometimes  they  are  cut  out,  as  it  were  into  a 
string,  the  hair  forming  a  beautiful  fringe  to  line  the  handle 
of  a  war-club.  Sometimes  they  are  hung  at  the  end  of  a 
club,  and  at  other  times,  by  the  order  of  the  chief,  are 
hung  out,  over  the  wigwams,  suspended  from  a  pole,  which 
is  called  the  ^^ scalp-pole."  This  is  often  done  by  the  chief 
of  a  village,  on  a  pleasant  day,  by  his  erecting  over  his 
wigwam  a  pole  with  all  the  scalps  that  he  had  taken, 
arranged  upon  it,  at  the  sight  of  which  all  the  chiefs  and 
warriors  of  the  tribe,  who  had  taken  scalps,  "follow  suit;" 
enabling  every  member  of  the  community  to  stroll  about 


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Sciences 

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33  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  NY.  14580 

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LETTERS  AND  NOTES. 


the  village  on  that  day  and  "  count  scalps,"  learning 
thereby  the  standing  of  every  warrior,  which  is  decided 
in  a  great  degree  by  the  number  of  scalps  they  have  taken 
in  battles  with  their  enemies. 

So  much  for  scalps  and  scalping,  of  which  I  shall  yet 


say  more,  unless  I  should  unluckily  lose  one  before  I 
out  of  the  country 


get 


LETTER  No.  XXX. 

MOUTH  OP  TETON  RIVER,  UPPER  MISSOURI. 

In  the  last  letter  I  gave  an  account  of  many  of  the 

weapons  and  other  manufactures  of  these  wild  folks ;  and 

as  this  has  been  a  day  of  packing  and  casing  a  great  many 

of  these  things,  which  I  have  obtained  of  the  Indians,  to 

add  to  my  Mus^e  Indiennc,  I  will  name  a  few  more,  which 

I  have  just  been  handling  over ;  some  description  of  which 

may  be    necessary    for    the   reader    in    endeavoring   to 

appreciate  some  of  their  strange  customs  and  amusements, 

which  I  am  soon  to  unfold.    The  process  of  "  smohing  the 

shieM^  is  a  very  curious,  as  well  as  an  important  one  in 

their  estimation.    For  this  purpose  a  young  man  about  to 

construct  him  a  shield,  digs  a  hole  of  two  feet  in  depth,  in 

the  ground,  and  as  large  in  diameter  as  he  designs  to 

make  his  shield.    In  this  he  builds  a  fire,  and  over  it,  a 

few  inches  higher  than  the  ground,  he  stretches  the  raw 

hide  horizontally  over  the  fire,   with  little  pegs  driven 

(367) 


S63 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


through  holes  made  near  the  edges  of  the  skin.  This  skin 
is  at  first,  twice  as  large  as  the  size  of  the  required  shield  ■ 
but  having  got  his  particular  and  best  friends  (who  are 
invited  on  the  occasion,)  into  a  ring,  to  dance  and  sing 
around  it,  and  solicit  the  Great  Spirit  to  instil  into  it  the 
power  to  protect  him  harmless  against  his  enemies,  he 
spreads  over  it  the  glue,  which  is  rubbed  and  dried  in,  as 
the  skin  is  heated ;  and  a  second  busily  drives  other  and 
other  pegs,  inside  of  those  in  the  ground,  as  they  are 
gradually  giving  way  and  being  pulled  up  by  the  con- 
traction of  the  skin.  By  this  curious  process,  which  ia 
most  dexterously  done,  the  skin  is  kept  tight  whilst  it 
contracts  to  one-half  of  its  size,  taking  up  the  glue  and 
increasing  in  thickness  until  it  is  rendered  as  thick  and 
hard  as  required  (and  his  friends  have  pleaded  lono- 
enough  to  make  it  arrow,  and  almost  ball  proof),  when 
the  dance  ceases,  and  the  fire  is  put  out.  When  it  is 
cooled  and  cut  into  the  shape  that  he  desires,  it  is  often 
painted  with  his  medicine  or  totem  upon  it,  the  figure  of  an 
eagle,  an  owl,  a  buffalo  or  other  animal,  as  the  case  may 
be,  which  he  trusts  will  guard  and  protect  him  from  harm; 
it  is  then  fringed  with  eagles's  quills,  or  other  ornaments 
he  may  have  chosen,  and  slung  with  a  broad  leather  strap 
that  crosses  his  breast.  These  shields  are  carried  by  all 
the  warriors  in  these  regions,  for  their  protection  in  battles, 
which  are  almost  invariably  fought  from  their  horses'  backs. 

Of  pipes,  and  the  custom  of  smoking,  I  have  already 
spoken ;  and  I  then  said,  that  the  Indians  use  several 
substitutes  for  tobacco,  which  they  call  K^nick  K^ncck 
For  the  carrying  of  this  delicious  weed  or  bark,  and  pre- 
serving its  flavor,  the  women  construct  very  curious 
jiouches  of  otter,  or  beaver  or  other  skins,  which  are 
ingeniously  ornamented  v'  "lorcupine  quiUs  and  beads, 
and  generally  carried  hanj^^-g  across  the  left  arm,  con- 
taining a  quantity  of  the  precious  narcotiCf  with  flint  aod 
steel,  and  punk,  for  lighting  the  pipe. 

The  musical  instruments  used  amongst  these  people  aro 


KOBTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


869 


few,  and  exceedingly  rude  and  imperfect,  consisting  chiefly 
of  rattles,  drums,  whistles,  and  lutes,  all  of  which  are  used 
in  the  different  tribes. 

Their  rattles  (or  She-she-quois)  most  generally  used,  are 
made  of  rawhide,  which  becomes  very  hard  when  dry,  and 
charged  with  pebbles  or  something  of  the  kind,  which 
produce  a  shrill  noise  to  mark  the  time  in  their  dances  and 
songs.    Their  drums  are  made  in  a  very  rude  manner,  often- 
times with  a  mere  piece  of  rawhide  stretched  over  a  hoop, 
very  much  in  the  shape  of  a  tambourine ;  and  at  other 
times  are  made  in  the  form  of  a  keg,  with  a  head  of  raw- 
hide at  each  end ;  on  these  they  beat  with  a  drum-stick, 
which  oftentimes  itself  is  a  rattle,  the  bulb  or  head  of  it 
being  made  of  rawhide  and  filled  with  pebbles.    In  other 
instances  the  stick  has,  at  its  end,  a  little  hoop  wound  and 
covered  with  buck-skin,  to  soften  the  sound ;  with  which 
they  beat  on  the  drum  with  great  violence,  as  the  chief 
and  heel-inspiring  sound  for  all  their  dances,  and  also  as 
an  accompaniment  for  their  numerous  and  never-ending 
songs  of  amusement,  of  thanksgiving,  and  medicine  or 
metai.    The  mystery  whistle,  is  another  instrument  of  their 
invention,  and  very  ingeniously  made,  the  sound  being 
produced  on  a  principle  entirely  different  from  that  of  any 
wind  instrument  known  in  civilized  inventions;  and  the 
notes  produced  on  it,  by  the  sleight  or  trick  of  an  Indian 
boy,  in  so  simple  and  successful  a  manner,  as  to  baffle 
entirely  all  civilized  ingenuity,  even  when  it  is  seen  to  be 
played.    An  Indian  boy  would  stand  and  blow  his  notes 
on  this  repeatedly,  for  hundreds  of  white  men  who  might 
be  lookers-on,  not  one  of  whom  could  make  the  least  noise 
on  it,  even  by  practising  with  it  for  hours.    When  I  first 
saw  this   curious    exhibition,  I  was  charmed    with  the 
peculiar  sweetness  of  its  harmonic  sounds,  and  completely 
perplexed,  (as  hundreds  of  white  men  have  no  doubt  been 
before  me,  to  the  great  amusement  and  satisfaction  of  the 
women  and  children,)  as  to  the  mode  in  which  the  sound 
was    produced,  even    though  it  was    repeatedly  played 

24 


870 


LETTERS  AND  XOTES  ON  THE 


immediately  before  my  eyes,  and  handed  to  me  for  niy 
vain  and  amusing  endeavors.  The  sounds  of  this  little 
simple  toy  are  liquid  and  sweet  beyond  description  ;  and 
though  here  only  given  in  harmonies,  I  am  inclined  to 
think,  might,  by  some  ingenious  musician  or  musical 
instrument-maker,  bo  modulated  and  converted  into  some- 
thing very  pleasing, 

The  War-uhistle  is  a  well  known  and  valued  little 
instrument,  of  six  or  nine  inches  in  length,  invariably 
made  of  the  bone  of  the  deer  or  turkey's  leg,  and  generally 
ornamented  with  porcupine  quills  of  different  colors 
which  are  wound  around  it.  A  chief  or  leader  carries  this 
to  battle  with  him,  suspended  generally  from  his  neck,  and 
worn  under  his  dress.  This  little  instrument  has  but  two 
notes,  which  are  produced  by  blowing  in  the  ends  of  it. 
The  note  produced  in  one  end,  being  much  more  shrill 
than  the  other,  gives  the  signal  for  battle,  whilst  the  other 
sounds  a  retreat ;  a  thing  that  is  distinctly  heard  and  under- 
stood by  every  man,  even  in  the  heat  and  noise  of  battle 
where  all  are  barking  and  yelling  as  loud  as  possible,  and 
of  OQurse  unable  to  hear  the  commands  of  their  leader.     ■. 

There  is  yet  another  wind  instrument  which  I  have 
added  to  my  Collection,  and  from  its  appearance  would 
seem  to  have  been  borrowed,  in  part,  from  the  civilized 
world.  This  is  what  is  often  on  the  frontier  called  a  ^^  deer- 
skin Jlute/^  a  "Winnebago  courting  flute,"  a  "tsal-eet- 
quash-to,"  &c. ;  it  is  perforated  with  holes  for  the  fingers, 
sometimes  for  six,  at  others  for  four,  and  in  some  instances 
for  three  only,  having  only  so  many  notes  with  their 
octaves.  These  notes  are  very  irregularly  graduated, 
showing  clearly  that  they  have  very  little  taste  or  ear  for 
melody.  These  instruments  are  blown  in  the  end,  and 
the  sound  produced  much  on  the  principle  of  a  whistle. 

In  the  vicinity  of  the  Upper  Mississippi,  I  often  and 
familiarly  heard  this  instrument,  called  the  Winnebago 
courting  flute ;  and  was  credibly  informed  by  traders  and 
others  in  those  regions,  that  the  young  men  of  that  tribe 


NORTH  AMEBICAN  INDIANS. 


371 


meet  with  signal  sucess,  oftentimes,  in  wooing  their  sweet- 
hearts with  its  simple  notes,  which  they  blow  for  hours 
together,  and  from  day  to  day,  from  the  bank  of  some 
stream — some  favorite  rock  or  log  on  which  they  are 
seated,  near  to  the  wigwam  which  contains  the  object  of 
their  tender  passion;  until  her  soul  is  touched,  and  she  re- 
sponds by  some  welcome  signal,  that  she  is  ready  to  repay 
the  young  Orpheus  for  his  pains,  with  the  gift  of  her  hand 
and  her  heart.  How  true  these  representations  may  have 
been  made,  I  cannot  say,  but  there  certainly  must  have 
been  some  ground  for  the  present  cognomen  by  which  it  is 
known  in  that  country. 

From  these  rude  and  exceedingly  defective  instruments, 
it  will  at  once  be  seen,  that  music  has  made  but  little 
progress  with  these  people ;  and  the  same  fact  will  be  still 
more  clearly  proved,  to  those  who  have  an  opportunity  to 
hear  their  vocal  exhibitions,  which  are  daily  and  almost 
hourly  serenading  the  ears  of  the  traveller  through  their 
country. 

Dancing  is  one  of  the  principal  and  most  frequent 
cmusements  of  all  the  tribes  of  Indians  in  America ;  and, 
in  all  of  these,  both  vocal  and  instrumental  music  are  in- 
troduced. These  dances  consist  in  about  four  different 
steps  which  constitute  all  the  different  varieties ;  but  the 
figures  and  forms  of  these  scenes  are  very  numerous,  and 
produced  by  the  most  violent  jumps  and  contortions,  ac- 
companied with  the  song  and  beats  of  the  drum,  which 
are  given  in  exact  time  with  their  motions.  It  has  been 
said  by  some  travellers,  that  the  Indian  has  neither 
harmony  nor  melody  in  his  music,  but  I  am  unwilling  to 
subscribe  t6  such  an  assertion :  although  I  grant,  that  for 
the  most  part  of  their  vocal  exercises,  there  is  a  total 
absence  of  what  the  musical  world  would  call  melody: 
their  songs  being  made  up  chiefly  of  a  sort  of  violent 
chaunt  of  harsh  and  jarring  gutturals,  of  yelps  and  barks, 
and  screams,  which  are  given  out  in  perfect  time,  not  only 
with  "method  (but  with    harmony)   in  their  madness." 


372 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


There  are  times  too,  as  every  traveller  of  the  Indian 
country  will  attest,  if  he  will  recall  them  to  his  recollection 
when  the  Indian  lays  down  by  his  fire-side  with  his  drum 
in  his  hand,  which  he  lightly  and  almost  imperceptibly 
touches  over,  as  he  accompanies  it  with  his  stifled  voice  of 
dulcet  sounds  that  might  come  from  the  most  tender  and 
delicate  female. 

These  quiet  and  tender  songs  are  very  different  from  those 
which  are  sung  at  their  dances,  in  full  chorus  and  violent 
gesticulation ;  and  many  of  them  seem  to  be  quite  rich  in 
plaintive  expression  and  melody,  though  barren  of  change 
and  variety. 

Dancing,  I  have  before  said,  is  one  of  the  principal  and 
most  valued  amusements  of  the  Indians,  and  much  more 
frequently  practised  by  them  than  by  any  civilized  so- 
ciety ;  inasmuch  as  it  enters  into  their  forms  of  worship, 
and  is  often  their  mode  of  appealing  to  the  Great  Spirit — 
of  paying  their  usual  devotions  \o  their  mcdicinQ — and  of 
honoring  and  entertaining  strangers  of  distinction  in  their 
country. 

Instead  of  the  "giddy  maze"  of  the  quadrille  or  the 
country  dance,  enlivened  by  the  cheering  smiles  and  graces 
of  silkeped  beauty,  the  Indian  performs  his  rounds  with 
jumps,  and  starts,  and  yells,  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  his 
own  exclusive  self,  and  infinite  amusement  of  the  gentler 
sex,  who  are  always  lookers  on,  but  geldom  allowed  so 
great  a  pleasure,  or  so  signal  an  honor,  as  that  of  joining 
with  their  lords  in  this  or  any  other  entertainment. 
Whilst  staying  with  these  people  on  my  way  up  the  river, 
I  was  repeatedly  honored  with  the  dance,  and  I  as  often 
hired  them  to  give  them,  or  went  to  overlook  where  they 
were  performing  them  at  their  own  pleasure,  in  pursuance 
of  their  peculiar  customs,  or  for  their  own  amusements, 
that  I  might  study  and  correctly  herald  them  to  future 
ages.  I  saw  so  many  of  their  different  varieties  of  dances 
amongst  the  Sioux,  that  I  should  almost  be  disposed  to 
denominate   them   the  ^^  dancing  Tndians.^^    It  would  ac- 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


878 


tually  seem  as  if  they  had  dances  for  every  thing.  And  in 
80  large  a  village  there  was  scarcely  an  hour  in  any  day  or 
night,  but  what  the  beat  of  the  drum  could  somewhere  be 
heard.  These  dances  are  almost  as  various  and  diflferent  in 
their  character  as  they  are  numerous — some  of  them  so 
exceedingly  grotesque  and  laughable,  as  to  keep  the  by- 
standers in  an  irresistible  roar  of  laughter — others  are 
calculated  to  excite  his  pity,  and  forcibly  appeal  to  his 
sympathies,  whilst  others  disgust,  and  yet  others  terrify 
and  alarm  him  with  their  frightful  threats  and  contortions. 
All  the  world  have  heard  of  the  "  bear-dance,^^  though  I 
doubt  whether  more  than  a  very  small  proportion  have  ever 
seen  it ;  here  it  is.  The  Sioux,  like  all  the  others  of  these 
western  tribes,  are  fond  of  bear's  meat,  and  must  have 
good  stores  of  the  "  bear's  grease  "  laid  in,  to  oil  their  long 
and  glossy  locks,  as  well  as  the  surface  of  their  bodies. 
And  they  all  like  the  fine  pleasure  of  a  bear  hunt,  and  also 
a  participation  in  the  bear  dance,  which  is  given  several 
days  in  succession,  previous  to  their  starting  out,  and  in 
which  they  all  join  in  a  song  to  the  Bear  Spirit;  which 
they  think  holds  somewhere  an  invisible  existence,  and 
must  be  consulted  and  conciliated  before  they  can  enter 
upon  the  excursion  with  any  prospect  of  success.  For  this 
grotesque  and  amusing  scene,  one  of  the  chief  medicine- 
men placed  over  his  body  the  entire  skin  of  a  bear,  with  a 
war-eagle's  quill  on  his  head,  taking  the  lead  in  the  dance, 
and  looking  through  the  skin  which  formed  a  masque  that 
hung  over  his  face.  Many  others  in  the  dance  wore 
masques  on  their  faces,  made  of  the  skin  from  the  bear's 
head;  and  all,  with  the  motions  of  their  hands,  closely 
imitated  the  movements  of  that  animal ;  some  representing 
its  motion  in  running,  and  others  the  peculiar  attitude  and 
hanging  of  the  paws,  when  it  is  sitting  up  on  its  hind  feet, 
and  looking  out  for  the  approach  of  an  enemy.  This 
grotesque  and  amusing  masquerade  oftentimes  is  continued 
at  intervals,  for  several  days  previous  to  the  starting  of  a 
party  on  the  bear  hunt,  who  would  scarcely  count  upon  a 


87:t 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


tolerable  prospect  of  success,  without  a  strict  adherence  to 
this  most  important  and  indispensable  form  I 

Dancing  is  done  here  too,  as  it  is  oftentimes  done  in 
the  enlightened  world,  to  get  favors— to  buy  the  world's 
goods;  and  in  both  countries  danced  with  about  ei^ual 
merit,  except  that  the  Indian  has  surpassed  us  in  honesty 
by  christening  it  in  his  own  country,  the  *^  beggar's  dance!^ 
This  spirited  dance,  was  given,  not  by  a  set  of  heggara 
though,  literally  speaking,  but  by  the  first  and  most  inde- 
pendent young  men  in  the  tribe,  beautifully  dressed,  (i.  e. 
not  dressed  at  all,  except  with  their  breech-clouts  or  hdts^ 
made  of  eagles'  and  ravens'  quills,)  with  their  lances,  and 
pipes,  and  rattles  in  their  hands,  and  a  medicineman 
beating  the  drum,  and  joining  in  the  song  at  the  highest 
key  of  his  voice.  In  this  dance  every  one  sings  as  loud  as 
he  can  halloo ;  uniting  his  voice  with  the  others,  in  an 
appeal  to  the  Great  Spirit,  to  open  the  hearts  of  the  by- 
standers  to  give  to  the  poor,  and  not  to  themselves; 
assuring  them  that  the  Great  Spirit  will  be  kind  to  those 
who  are  kind  to  the  helpless  and  poor. 

The  Scalp-dance  is  given  as  a  celebration  of  a  victory; 
and  amongst  this  tribe,  as  I  learned  whilst  residing  with 
them,  danced  in  the  night,  by  the  light  of  their  torches, 
and  just  before  retiring  to  bed.  "When  a  war  party  returns 
from  a  war  excursion,  bringing  home  with  them  the  scalps 
of  their  enemies,  they  generally  "dance  them"  for  fifteen 
nights  in  succession,  vaunting  forth  the  most  extravagant 
boasts  of  their  wonderful  prowess  in  war,  whilst  they  bran- 
dish their  war  weapons  in  their  hands.  A  number  of 
young  women  are  selected  to  aid  (though  they  do  not 
actually  join  in  the  dance),  by  stepping  into  the  centre  of 
the  ring,  and  holding  up  the  Scalps  that  have  been  recently 
taken,  whilst  the  warriors  dance  (or  rather  jumj)\  around 
in  a  circle,  brandishing  their  weapons,  and  barking  and 
yelping  in  the  most  frightful  manner,  all  jumping  on  both 
feet  at  a  time,  with  a  simultaneous  stamp,  and  blow,  and 
thrust  of  their  weapons ;  with  which  it  would  seem  as  if 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


875 


tlioy  wore  actually  cutting  and  carving  each  other  to  pieces. 
During  these  frantic  leaps,  and  yelps,  and  thrusts,  every 
man  distorts  his  face  to  the  utmost  of  his  muscles,  darting 
about  his  glaring  eye-balls  and  snapping  his  teeth,  as  if  he 
were  in  the  heat  (and  actually  breathing  through  his  infla- 
ted nostrils  the  very  hissing  death)  of  battle  1  No  descrip- 
tion that  can  be  written,  could  evet  convey  more  than  a 
feeble  outline  of  the  frightful  effects  of  these  scenes  enacted 
in  the  dead  and  darkness  of  night,  under  the  glaring  light 
of  their  blazing  flambeaux ;  nor  could  all  the  years  allotted 
to  mortal  man,  in  the  least  obliterate  or  deface  the  vivid 
impress  that  one  scene  of  this  kind  would  leave  upon  his 
memory. 

The  precise  object  for  which  the  scalp  is  taken,  is  one 
which  is  definitely  understood,  and  has  already  been  ex- 
plained ;  but  the  motive  (or  motives),  for  which  this  strict 
ceremony  is  so  scrupulously  held  by  all  the  American 
tribes  over  the  scalp  of  an  enemy,  is  a  subject,  as  yet  not 
satisfactorily  settled  in  my  mind.  There  is  no  doubt,  but 
one  great  object  in  these  exhibitions  is  public  exultation ; 
yet  there  are  several  conclusive  evidences,  that  there  are 
other  and  essential  motives  for  thus  formally  and  strictly 
displaying  the  scalp.  Amongst  some  of  the  tribes,  it  is  the 
custom  to  bury  the  scalps  after  they  have  gone  through 
this  series  of  public  exhibitions;  which  may  in  a  measure 
have  been  held  for  the  purpose  of  giving  them  notoriety, 
and  of  awarding  public  credit  to  the  persons  who  obtained 
them,  and  now,  from  a  custom  of  the  tribe,  are  obliged  to 
part  with  them.  The  great  respect  which  seems  to  be  paid 
to  them  whilst  they  use  them,  as  well  as  the  pitying  and 
mournful  song  which  they  howl  to  the  manes  of  their 
unfortuniite  victims ;  as  well  as  the  precise  care  and  solem- 
nity with  which  they  afterwards  bury  the  scalps,  sufliciently 
convince  me  that  they  have  a  superstitious  dread  of  the 
spirits  of  their  slain  enemies,  and  many  concilatory  offices 
to  perform,  to  ensure  their  own  peace;  one  of  which  is  the 
ceremony  above  described. 


LETTER  No.  XXXT. 
MOUTH  OP  TETON  RIVER,  UPPER  MISSOURI. 

In  former  Letters  I  have  given  some  account  of  the 
Bisons,  or  (as  tbey  are  more  familiarly  denominated  in  this 
country)  Buffaloes,  which  inhabit  these  regions  in  numerous 
herds ;  and  of  which  I  must  say  yet  a  little  more. 

These  noble  animals  of  the  ox  species,  and  which  have 
been  so  well  described  in  our  books  on  Natural  History, 
are  a  subject  of  curious  interest  and  great  importance  in 
this  vast  wilderness;  rendered  peculiarly  so  at  this  time, 
like  the  history  of  the  poor  savage;  and  from  the  same 
consideration,  that  they  are  rapidly  wasting  away  at  the 
approach  of  civilized  man — and  like  him  and  his  character, 
in  a  very  few  years,  to  live  only  in  books  or  on  canvass. 

The  word  buffalo  is  undoubtedly  most  incorrectly 
applied  to  these  animals,  and  I  can  scarcely  tell  why  they 
have  been  so  called;  for  they  bear  just  about  as  much 
resemblance  to  the  Eastern  buffalo,  as  they  do  to  a  zebra  or 
to  a  common  ox.  How  nearly  they  may  approach  to  the 
bison  of  Europe,  which  I  never  have  had  an  opportunity 
to  see,  and  which,  I  am  inclined  to  think,  is  now  nearly 
extinct,  I  am  unable  to  say;  yet  if  I  were  to  judge  from  the 
numerous  engravings  I  have  seen  of  those  animals,  and 
(376) 


KORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


877 


descriptions  I  have  road  of  them,  T  should  be  inclined  to 
think,  there  was  yet  a  wide  difference  between  the  bison  of 
the  American  prairies,  and  those  in  the  North  of  Europe 
and  Asia.  The  American  bison,  or  (as  I  shall  hereafter  call 
it)  buffalo,  is  the  largest  of  the  ruminating  animals  that  is 
now  living  in  America;  and  seems  to  have  been  spread 
over  the  plains  of  this  vast  country,  by  the  Great  Spirit,  for 
the  use  and  subsistence  of  the  red  men,  who  live  almost 
exclusively  on  their  flesh,  and  clothe  themselves  with  their 
skins.  Their  color  is  a  dark  brown,  but  changing  very 
much  as  the  season  varies  from  warm  to  cold ;  their  hair  or 
fur,  from  its  great  length  in  the  winter  and  spring,  and 
exposure  to  the  weather,  turning  quite  light,  and  almost  to 
a  jet  black,  when  the  winter  coat  is  shed  off,  and  a  new 
growth  is  shooting  out. 

The  buffalo  bull  often  grows  to  the  enormous  weight  of 
two  thousand  pounds,  and  shakes  a  long  and  shaggy  black 
mane,  that  falls  in  great  profusion  and  confusion  over  his 
head  and  shoulders ;  and  oftentimes  falling  down  quite  to 
the  ground.  The  horns  are  short,  but  very  largo,  and  have 
but  one  turn,  t.  e.  they  are  a  simple  arch,  without  the  least 
approach  to  a  spiral  form,  like  those  of  the  common  ox,  or 
of  the  goat  species. 

The  female  is  much  smaller  than  the  mole,  and  always 
distinguishable  by  the  peculiar  shape  of  the  horns,  which 
are  much  smaller  and  more  crooked,  turning  their  points 
more  in  towards  the  centre  of  the  forehead. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  characteristics  of  the  buffalo, 
is  the  peculiar  formation  and  expression  of  the  eye,  the  ball 
of  which  is  very  large  and  white,  and  the  iris  jet  black. 
The  lids  of  the  eye  seem  always  to  be  strained  quite  open, 
and  the  ball  rolling  forward  and  down ;  so  that  a  consider- 
able part  of  the  iris  is  hidden  behind  the  lower  lid,  while 
the  pure  white  of  the  eyeball  glares  out  over  it  in  an  arch, 
in  the  shape  of  a  moon  at  the  end  of  its  first  quarter. 

These  animals  are,  truly  speaking,  gregarious,  but  not 
migratory — they  graze  in  immense  and  almost  incredible 


I    w 


878 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


numbers  at  times,  and  roam  about  and  over  vast  tracts  of 
country,  from  East  to  West,  and  from  "West  to  Edst,  as 
often  as  from  North  to  South ;  which  has  often  been  sup- 
posed  they  naturally  and  habitually  did  to  accommodate 
themselves  to  the  temperature  of  the  climate  in  the  differ- 
ent latitudes.  The  limits  within  which  they  are  found  in 
America,  are  from  the  thirtieth  to  the  fifty-fifth  degrees  of 
North  latitude ;  and  their  extent  from  East  to  West,  which 
is  from  the  border  of  our  extreme  Western  frontier  limits, 
to  the  Western  verge  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  is  defined 
by  quite  different  causes,  than  those  which  the  degrees  of 
temperature  have  proscribed  to  them  on  the  North  and  the 
South.  Within  these  twenty-five  degrees  of  latitude,  the 
buffaloes  seem  to  flourish,  and  get  their  living  without  the 
necessity  of  evading  the  rigor  of  the  climate,  for  which 
Nature  seems  most  wisely  to  have  prepared  them  by  tlie 
greater  or  less  profusion  of  fur,  with  which  she  has  clothed 
them. 

It  is  very  evident  that,  as  high  North  aa  Lake  Winnepeg, 
seven  or  eight  hundred  miles  North  of  this,  the  buffalo 
subsists  itself  through  the  severest  winters ;  getting  its  food 
chiefly  by  browzing  amongst  the  timber,  and  by  pawing 
through  the  snow,  for  a  bite  at  the  grass,  which  in  those 
regions  is  frozen  up  very  suddenly  in  the  beginning  of  the 
winter,  with  all  its  juices  in  it,  and  consequently  furnishes 
very  nutritious  and  efficient  food ;  and  often,  if  not  gene- 
rally, supporting  the  animal  in  better  flesh  during  these 
difficult  seasons  of  their  lives,  than  they  are  found  to  be  in, 
in  the  thirtieth  degree  of  latitude,  upon  the  borders  of 
Mexico,  where  the  severity  of  winter  is  not  known,  but 
during  a  long  and  tedious  autumn,  the  herbage,  under  the 
influence  of  a  burning  sun,  is  gradually  dried  away  to  a 
mere  husk,  and  its  nutriment  gone,  leaving  these  poor 
creatures,  even  in  the  dead  of  winter,  to  bask  in  the  warmth 
of  a  genial  sun,  without  the  benefit  of  a  green  or  juicy 
thing  to  bite  at. 

The  place  from  whore  T  am  now  writing,  may  be  said  to 


NORTH  A5IERICAN  INDIANS. 


879 


be  the  very  heart  or  nucleus  of  the  buffiilo  country,  about 
equi-distant  between  the  two  extremes ;  and  of  course,  the 
most  congenial  temperature  for  them  to  flourish  in.  The 
finest  animals  that  graze  on  the  prairies  are  to  be  found  in 
this  latitude;  and  I  am  sure  I  never  could  send  from  a 
better  scource,  some  further  account  of  the  death  and  des- 
truction that  is  dealt  among  these  noble  animals,  and 
•hurrying  on  their  final  extinction. 

The  Sioux  are  a  bold  and  desperate  set  of  horsemen, 
and  great  hunters ;  and  in  the  heart  of  their  country  is  one 
of  the  most  extensive  assortments  of  goods,  of  whisky,  and 
other  saleable  commodities,  as  well  as  a  party  of  the  most 
indefatigable  men,  who  are  constantly  calling  for  every  robe 
that  can  be  stripped  from  these  animals'  backs. 

These  are  the  causes  which  lead  so  directly  to  their  rapid 
destruction ;  and  which  open  to  the  view  of  the  traveller  so 
freshly,  so  vividly,  and  so  familiarly,  the  scenes  of  archery 
—of  lancing,  and  of  death-dealing,  that  belong  peculiarly  to 
this  wild  and  shorn  country. 

The  almost  countless  herds  of  these  animals  that  are 
sometimes  met  with  on  these  prairies,  have  been  often 
spoken  of  by  other  writers,  and  may  yet  be  seen  by  any 
traveller  who  will  take  the  pains  to  visit  these  regions. 
The  " running  season"  which  is  in  August  and  September, 
is  the  time  when  they  congregate  in  such  masses  in  some 
places,  as  literally  to  blacken  the  prairies  for  miles  together. 
It  is  no  uncommon  thing  at  this  season,  at  these  gatherings, 
to  see  several  thousands  in  a  mass,  eddying  and  wheeling 
about  under  a  cloud  of  dust,  which  is  raised  by  the  bulls  as 
they  are  pawing  in  the  dirt,  or  engaged  in  desperate 
combats,  as  they  constantly  are,  plunging  and  butting  at 
each  other  in  the  most  furious  manner.  In  these  scenes, 
the  males  are  continually  following  the  females,  and  the 
whole  mass  are  in  constant  motion;  and  all  bellowing 
(or  "roaring")  in  deep  and  hollow  sounds;  which,  mingled 
altogether,  appear  at  the  distance  of  a  mile  or  two,  like  the 
sound  of  distant  thunder. 


'A 


880 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


During  the  season  whilst  they  are  congregated  together 
in  these  dense  and  confused  masses,  the  remainder  of  the 
country  around  for  many  miles,  becomes  entirely  vacated: 
and  the  traveller  may  spend  many  a  toilsome  day,  and 
many  a  hungry  night,  without  being  cheered  by  the  sight 
of  one ;  where,  if  he  retraces  his  steps  a  few  weeks  after,  he 
will  find  them  dispersed,  and  grazing  quietly  in  little 
families  and  flocks,  and  equally  stocking  the  whole  country. 

In  the  heat  of  summer,  these  huge  animals,  which,  no 
doubt,  suffer  very  much  with  the  great  profusion  of  their 
long  and  shaggy  hair  of  fur,  often  graze  on  the  low  grounds 
in  the  prairies,  where  there  is  a  little  stagnant  water  lying 
amongst  the  grass,  and  the  ground  underneath  being 
saturated  with  it,  is  soft,  into  which  the  enormous  bull, 
lowered  down  upon  one  knee,  will  plunge  his  horns,  and  at 
last  his  head,  driving  up  the  earth,  and  soon  making  an 
excavation  in  the  ground,  into  which  the  water  filters  from 
amongst  the  grass,  forming  for  him  in  a  few  moments,  a 
cool  and  comfortable  bath,  into  which  he  plunges  like  a 
hog  in  his  mire. 

In  this  delectable  laver,  he  throws  himself  flat  upon  his 
side,  and  forcing  himself  violently  around,  with  his  horns 
and  his  huge  hump  on  his  shoulders  presented  to  the  sides, 
he  ploughs  up  the  ground  by  his  rotary  motion,  sinking 
himself  deeper  and  deeper  in  the  ground,  continually 
enlarging  his  pool,  in  which  he  at  length  becomes  nearly 
immersed ;  and  the  water  and  mud  about  him  mixed  into 
a  complete  mortar,  which  changes  his  color,  and  drips 
in  streams  from  every  part  of  him  as  he  rises  up  upon  his 
feet,  a  hideous  monster  of  mud  and  ugliness,  too  frightful 
and  too  eccentric  to  be  described ! 

It  is  generally  the  leader  of  the  herd  that  takes  upon  him 
to  make  this  excavation ;  and  if  not  (but  another  one  opens 
the  ground),  the  leader  (who  is  conqueror)  marches  forward, 
and  driving  the  other  from  it  plunges  himself  into  it ;  and 
having  cooled  his  sides,  and  changed  his  color  to  a  walking 
mass  of  mud  and  mortar ;  he  stands  in  the  pool  until 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


881 


inclination  induces  him  to  step  out,  and  give  place  to  the 
next  in  command,  who  stands  ready ;  and  another,  and 
another,  who  advance  forward  in  their  turns,  to  enjoy  the 
luxury  of  the  wallow;  until  the  whole  band  (sometimes 
an  hundred  or  more)  will  pass  through  it  in  turn;  each  one 
throwing  his  body  around  in  a  similar  manner ;  and  each 
one  adding  a  little  to  the  dimensions  of  the  pool,  while  he 
carries  away  in  his  hair  an  equal  share  of  the  clay,  which 
dries  to  a  grey  or  whitish  color,  and  gradually  falls  off.  By 
this  operation,  which  is  done,  perhaps,  in  the  space  of  half 
an  hour,  .a  circular  excavation  of  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  iu 
diameter,  and  two  feet  in  depth,  is  completed,  and  left  for  the 
water  to  run  into,  which  soon  fills  it  to  the  level  of  the 
ground. 

To  these  sinks,  the  waters  lying  on  the  surface  of  the 
prairies,  are  continually  draining,  and  in  them  lodging 
their  vegetable  deposits ;  which,  after  a  lapse  of  years,  fill 
them  up  to  the  surface  with  a  rich  soil,  which  throws  up  au 
unusual  growth  of  grass  and  herbage ;  forming  conspicuous 
circles  which  arrest  the  eye  of  the  traveller,  and  are 
calculated  to  excite  his  surprise  for  ages  to  come. 

Many  travellers  who  have  penetrated  not  quite  far  enough 
into  the  Western  country  to  see  the  habits  of  these  animals, 
and  the  manner  in  which  these  mysterious  circles  are  made ; 
but  who  have  seen  the  prairies  strewed  with  their  bleached 
bones,  and  have  beheld  these  strange  circles,  which  often 
occur  in  groups,  and  of  different  sizes — have  come  home 
with  beautiful  and  ingenious  theories  (which  must  needs  be 
made),  for  the  origin  of  these  .singular  and  unaccountable 
appearances,  which,  for  want  of  a  rational  theory,  have 
generally  been  attributed  to  fairy  feet,  and  gained  the 
appellation  of  "fairy  circles^ 

Many  travellers,  again,  have  supposed  that  these  rings 
were  produced  by  the  dances  of  the  Indians,  which  are 
oftentimes  (and  in  fact  most  generally)  performed  in  a  circle ; 
yet  a  moment's  consideration  disproves  such  a  probability, 
inasmuch  as  the  Indians  always  select  the  ground  for  their 


a     «'*  1 

—if  I 


882 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


dancing  near  the  sites  of  tlieir  villages,  and  that  always  on 
a  dry  and  hard  foundation :  when  these  "  fairy  circles"  are 
uniformly  found  to  be  on  low  and  wet  ground. 

As  my  visit  to  these  parts  of  the  "  Oreat  Far  Wesf^  has 
brought  me  into  the  heart  of  the  buffalo  country,  where  I 
have  had  abundant  opportunities  of  seeing  this  noble  animal 
in  all  its  phases — its  habits  of  life,  and  every  mode  of  its 
death ;  I  shall  take  the  liberty  of  being  yet  a  little  more 
particular,  and  of  rendering  some  further  accounts  of  scenes 
which  I  have  witnessed  in  following  out  my  sporting 
propensities  in  these  singular  regions. 

The  chief  hunting  amusement  of  the  Indians  in  these 
parts  consists  in  the  chase  of  the  buffalo,  which  is  almost 
invariably  done  on  horseback,  with  bow  and  lance.  In  this 
exercise,  which  is  highly  prized  by  them,  as  one  of  their 
most  valued  amusements,  as  well  as  for  the  principal  mode 
of  procuring  meat  for  their  subsistence,  they  become  ex- 
ceedingly expert ;  and  are  able  to  slay  these  huge  animals 
with  apparent  ease. 

The  Indians  in  these  parts  are  all  mounted  on  small,  but 
serviceable  horses,  which  are  caught  by  them  on  the  prairies, 
where  they  are  often  running  wild  in  numerous  bands.  The 
Indian,  then,  mounted  on  his  little  wild  horse,  which  has 
been  through  some  years  of  training,  dashes  off  at  full  speed 
amongst  the  herds  of  buffaloes,  elks,  or  even  antelopes,  and 
deals  his  deadly  arrows  to  their  hearts  from  his  horse's 
back.  The  horse  is  the  fleetest  animal  of  the  prairie,  and 
easily  brings  his  rider  alongside  of  his  game,  which  falls 
a  certain  prey  to  his  deadly  shafts,  at  the  distance  of  a  few 
paces. 

In  the  chase  of  the  buffalo,  or  other  animal,  the  Indian 
generally  "strips"  himself  and  his  horse,  by  throwing  off 
his  shield  and  quiver,  and  every  part  of  his  dress,  which 
might  be  an  encumbrance  to  him  in  running ;  grasping  his 
bow  in  his  left  hand,  with  five  or  six  arrows  drawn  from 
his  quiver,  and  ready  for  instant  use.  In  his  right  hand 
(or  attached  to  the  wrist)  is  a  heavy  whip,  which  he  uses 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIAX3. 


383 


w^ithout  mercy,  and  forces  his  horse  alongside  of  his  game 
at  the  swiftest  speed. 

These  horses  are  so  trained,  that  the  Indian  has  little  use 
for  the  rein,  which  hangs  on  the  neck,  whilst  the  horse 
approaches  the  animal  on  the  right  side  giving  his  rider  the 
chance  to  throw  his  arrow  to  the  left ;  which  he  does  at  the 
instant  when  the  horse  is  passing — bringing  him  opposite  to 
the  heart,  which  receives  the  deadly  weapon  "to  the  feather." 
T7hen  pursuing  a  large  herd,  the  Indian  generally  rides 
close  in  the  rear,  until  he  selects  the  animal  he  wishes  to 
kill,  which  he  separates  from  the  throng  as  soon  as  he  can, 
by  dashing  his  horse  between  it  and  the  herd,  and  forcing 
it  off  by  itself;  where  he  can  approach  it  without  the 
clanger  of  being  trampled  to  death,  to  which  he  is  often 
liable  by  too  closely  escorting  the  multitude. 

No  bridle  whatever  is  used  in  this  country  by  the  Indians, 
as  they  have  no  knowledge  of  a  bit.  A  short  halter 
however,  which  answers  in  place  of  a  bridle,  is  in  general 
use ;  of  which  they  usually  form  a  noose  around  the  under 
jaw  of  the  horse  by  which  they  get  great  power  over  the 
animal ;  and  which  they  use  generally  to  stop  rataer  than 
guide  the  horse.  This  halter  is  called  by  the  French 
Traders  in  the  country,  Varret,  the  stop,  and  has  great  power 
in  arresting  the  speed  of  a  horse ;  though  it  is  extremely 
dangerous  to  use  too  freely  as  a  guide,  interfering  too  much 
with  the  freedom  of  his  limbs,  for  the  certainty  of  his  feet 
and  security  of  his  rider. 

When  the  Indian  then  has  directed  the  course  of  his  steed 
to  the  animal  which  he  has  selected,  the  training  of  the 
horse  is  such,  that  it  knows  the  object  of  its  rider's  selection, 
and  exerts  every  muscle  to  give  it  close  company ;  while 
the  halter  lies  loose  and  untouched  upon  his  neck,  and  the 
ritlcr  leans  quite  forward,  and  off  from  the  side  of  his  horse, 
mth  his  bow  drawn,  and  ready  for  the  deadly  shot,  which  is 
given  at  the  instant  he  is  opposite  to  the  animal's  body.  The 
horse  being  instinctively  afraid  of  the  animal  (though  he 
generally  brings  his  rider  within  the  reach  of  the  end  of 


nm^'.u. 

■  •s 

V  ■.'•*•     •!"'■ 

■? 

i  ■/,'*'»'.  v,,,.       •         , 

■.-■.L-    'Mii  »■-■       -   -     J  f    /  r 

-  'i 

km'--'.  ,' 

■,1: 

884 


LETTEBS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


his  bow),  keeps  his  eye  strained  upon  the  furious  enemy 
he  is  sc  closely  encountering;  and  the  moment  he  has 
approached  to  the  nearest  distance  required,  and  has  passed 
the  animal,  whether  the  shot  is  given  or  not,  he  gradually 
sheers  off  to  prevent  coming  on  to  the  horns  of  the  infuriated 
beast,  which  often  are  instantly  turned,  and  presented  for 
the  fatal  reception  of  its  too  familiar  attendant.  These 
frightful  collisions  often  take  place,  notwithstanding  the 
sagacity  of  the  horse,  and  the  caution  of  its  rider ;  for  in 
these  extraordinary  (and  inexpressible)  exhilarations  of 
chase,  which  seem  to  drown  the  prudence  alike,  of  instinct 
and  reason,  both  horse  and  rider  often  seem  rushing  on  to 
destruction,  as  if  it  were  mere  pastime  and  amusement. 

For  the  novice  in  these  scenes  there  is  much  danger  of 
his  limbs  and  his  life,  and  he  finds  it  a  hard  and  desper- 
ate struggle  that  brings  him  in  at  the  death  of  these  huge 
monsters,  except  where  it  has  been  produced  by  hands  that 
have  acquired  more  sleight  and  tact  than  his  own.  "With 
the  Indian,  who  has  made  this  the  every  day  sport  and 
amusement  of  his  life,  there  is  less  difl&culty  and  less  danger; 
he  rides  without  "  loosing  his  breath,"  and  his  unagitated 
hand  deals  certainty  in  its  deadly  blows. 

In  the  dead  of  the  winters  which  are  veyy  long  and 
severely  cold  in  this  country,  where  horses  cannot  be 
brought  into  the  chase  with  any  avail,  the  Indian  runs  upon 
the  surface  of  the  snow  by  the  aid  of  his  snow  shoes,  which 
buoys  him  up,  while  the  great  weight  of  the  buffaloes,  sinks 
them  down  to  the  middle  of  their  sides,  and  completely 
stopping  their  progress,  ensures  them  certain  and  easy 
victims  to  the  bow  or  lance  of  their  pursuers.  The  snow  iu 
these  regions  often  lies  during  the  winter,  to  the  depth  of 
three  and  four  feet,  being  blown  away  from  the  tops  and 
sides  of  the  hills  in  many  places,  which  are  left  bare  for  the 
buffaloes  to  graze  upon,  whilst  it  is  drifted  in  the  hollows 
and  ravines  to  a  very  great  depth,  and  rendered  almost 
entirely  impassable  to  these  huge  animals,  which  when 
closely   pursued    by  their  enemies,  endeavor  to  plunije 


NORTH   AMEUICAX  IXLIAN3. 


885 


through  it,  but  nro  soon  wedged  in  and  almost  unable  to 
move  where  they  fall  an  easy  prey  to  the  Indian,  who  runs 
up  lightly  upon  his  snow  shoes  and  drives  his  lance  to  their 
hearts.  The  skins  are  then  stripped  off,  to  be  sold  to  the 
Fur  Traders,  and  the  carcasses  left  to  be  devoured  by  the 
wolves.  This  is  the  season  in  which  the  greatest  number 
of  these  animals  are  destroyed  for  their  robes — they  are 
most  easily  killed  at  this  time,  and  their  hair  or  fur  being 
longer  and  more  abundant,  gives  greater  value  to  the  robe. 

The  Indians  generally  kill  and  dry  meat  enough  in  the 
fall,  when  it  is  fat  and  juicy,  to  last  them  through  the  win- 
ter: so  that  they  have  little  other  object  for  this  unlimited 
slaughter,  amid  the  drifts  of  snow,  than  that  of  procuring 
their  robes  for  traffic  with  their  Traders.  The  snow  shoes 
are  made  in  a  great  many  forms,  of  two  and  three  feet  in 
length,  and  one  foot  or  more  in  width,  of  a  hoop  or  hoops 
bent  around  for  the  frame,  with  a  netting  or  web  woven 
across  with  strings  of  rawhide,  on  which  the  feet  rest,  and  to 
which  they  are  fastened  with  straps  somewhat  like  a  skate. 
With  these  the  Indian  will  glide  over  the  snow  with 
astonishing  quickness,  without  sinking  down,  or  scarcely 
leaving  his  track  where  he  has  gone. 

The  poor  buffaloes  have  their  enemy  man,  besetting  and 
beseiging  them  at  all  times  of  the  year,  and  in  all  the 
modes  that  man  in  his  superior  wisdom  has  been  able  to 
devise  for  their  destruction.  They  struggle  in  vain  to 
evade  his  deadly  shafts,  when  he  dashes  amongst  them  over 
tho  plains  on  his  wild  horse — they  plunge  into  the  snow- 
drifts whoro  they  yield  themselves  an  easy  prey  to  their 
destroyers,  and  they  also  stand  unwittingly  and  behold  him, 
unsuspected  under  the  skin  of  a  white  wolf,  insinuating 
himself  and  his  fatal  weapons  into  close  company,  when 
they  are  peaceably  grazing  on  the  level  prairies  and  shot 
down  before  they  are  aware  of  their  danger. 

Tliere  are  several  varieties  of  the  wolf  species  in  this 
country,  the  most  formidable  and  most  numerous  of  which 
are  white,  often  sneaking  about  in  gangs  or  families  of  fifty 

25 


^i.ir 


886 


LBTfEUS  A:JD  notes  ON  THE 


or  sixty  in  numbers,  appearing  in  distance,  on  the  green 
prairies  like  nothing  but  a  flock  of  sheep.  Many  of  these 
animals  grow  to  a  very  great  size,  being  I  should  think, 
quite  a  match  for  the  largest  Newfoundland  dog.  At  pre- 
sent  whilst  the  buffaloes  are  so  abundant,  and  these  fero- 
cious animals  are  glutted  with  the  buffalo's  flesh,  they  are 
harmless,  and  everywhere  sneak  away  from  man's  presence ; 
which  I  scarcely  tliink  will  be  the  case  after  the  buffaloes 
are  all  gone,  and  they  are  left,  as  they  must  be,  with 
scarcely  anything  to  eat.  They  always  are  seen  following 
about  in  the  vicinity  of  herds  of  bufl'aloes  and  stand  ready 
to  pick  the  bones  of  those  that  the  hunters  leave  on  the 
ground,  or  to  overtake  aud  devour  those  that  are  wounded, 
which  fall  an  easy  prey  to  them.  While  the  herd  of 
buffaloes  are  together,  they  seem  to  have  little  dread  of  the 
wolf,  and  allow  them  to  come  in  close  company  with  them. 


nuirriNO  thb  BurrxLO  in  disguibb. 


The  Indian  then  has  taken  advantage  of  this  fact,  and  often 
places  himself  under  the  skin  of  this  animal,  and  crawls 


>'ORTH   AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


887 


for  half  a  mile  or  more  on  his  hands  and  knoes,  until  he 
approaches  within  a  few  rods  of  the  unsuspecting  group, 
and  easily  shoots  down  the  fattest  of  the  throng. 

The  buffalo  is  a  very  timid  animal,  and  shuns  the  vicin- 
ity of  man  with  the  keenest  sagacity ;  yet  when  overtaken, 
and  harassed  or  wounded,  turns  upon  its  assailants  with  the 
utmost  fury,  who  have  only  to  seek  safety  in  flight.  In 
their  desperate  resistance  the  finest  horses  are  often  des- 
troyed; but  the  Indian,  with  his  superior  sagacity  and 
dexterity,  generally  finds  some  effective  mode  of  escape. 

During  the  season  of  the  year  whilst. the  calves  are 
young,  the  male  seems  to  stroll  about  by  the  side  of  the 
dam,  as  if  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  the  young,  at 
which  time  it  is  exceedingly  hazardous  to  attack  them,  as 
they  are  sure  to  turn  upon  their  pursuers,  who  have  often 
to  fly  to  each  other's  assistance.  The  buffalo  calf,  during 
the  first  six  months  is  red,  and  has  so  much  the  appearance 
of  a  red  calf  in  cultivated  fields,  that  it  could  easily  be 
mingled  and  mistaken  amongst  them.  In  the  fall,  when 
it  changes  its  hair  it  takes  a  brown  coat  for  the  winter, 
which  it  always  retains.  In  pursuing  a  large  herd  of 
buffaloes  at  the  season  when  their  calves  are  but  a  few 
weeks  old,  I  have  often  been  exceedingly  amused  with  the 
curious  manoeuvres  of  these  shy  little  things.  Amidst  the 
thundering  confusion  of  a  throng  of  several  hundreds  or 
several  thousands  of  these  animals,  there  will  be  many  of 
the  calves  that  lose  sight  of  their  dams ;  and  being  left 
behind  by  the  throng,  and  the  swift  passing  hunters,  they 
endeavor  to  secrete  themselves,  when  they  are  exceedingly 
put  to  it  on  a  level  prairie,  where  nought  can  be  seen  but 
the  short  grass  of  six  or  eight  inches  in  height,  save  an 
occasional  bunch  of  wild  sage,  a  few  inches  higher,  to  which 
the  poor  affrighted  things  will  run,  and  dropping  on  their 
knees,  will  push  their  noses  under  it,  and  into  the  grass, 
where  they  will  stand  for  hours,  with  their  eyes  shut, 
imagining  themselves  securely  hid,  whilst  they  are  stand- 
ing up  quite  straighw  upon  their  hind  feet  and  can  easily  bo 


i  "  w 


J'^lli 


'♦'■JS" 


.  r  ;s 


888 


LETTERS  AND  X0TE3  ON  TUB 


scou  at  several  miles  distance.  It  is  a  familiar  amusement 
for  us  accustomed  to  these  scenes,  to  retreat  back  over  the 
ground  where  we  have  just  escorted  the  herd,  and  approach 
these  little  trembling  things,  which  stubbornly  maintain 
their  positions,  with  their  noses  pushed  under  the  grass,  and 
their  eyes  strained  upon  us,  as  we  dismount  from  our  horses 
and  are  passing  around  them.  From  this  fixed  position 
they  are  sure  not  to  move,  until  hands  are  laid  upon  thorn, 
and  then  for  the  shins  of  a  novice,  we  can  extend  our 
sympathy ;  or  if  he  can  preserve  the  skin  on  his  bones 
from  the  furious  buttings  of  its  head,  we  know  how  to  con- 
gratulate him  on  his  signal  success  and  good  luck.  In  these 
desperate  struggles  for  a  moment,  the  little  thing  is  con- 
quered, and  makes  no  further  resistance.  And  I  have 
often,  in  concurrence  with  a  known  custom  of  the  country, 
held  my  hands  over  the  eyes  of  the  calf,  and  breathed  a  few 
strong  breaths  into  its  nostrils ;  after  which  I  have,  with 
my  hunting  companions,  rode  several  miles  into  our 
encampment,  with  the  little  prisoner  busily  following  the 
heels  of  my  horse  the  whole  way,  aa  closely  and  as  affec- 
tionately as  its  instinct  would  attach  it  to  the  company  of 
its  dam  1 

This  is  one  of  the  most  extraordin^y  things  that  I  have 
met  with  in  the  habits  of  this  wild  country,  and  although  I 
had  often  heard  of  it,  and  felt  unable  exactly  to  believe  it, 
I  am  now  willing  to  bear  testimony  to  the  fact,  from  the 
numerous  instances  which  I  have  witnessed  since  I  came 
into  the  country.  During  the  time  that  I  resided  at  this 
post,  in  the  spring  of  the  year,  on  my  way  up  the  river,  I 
assisted  (in  numerous  hunts  of  the  buffalo,  with  the  Fur 
Company's  men,)  in  bringing  in,  in  the  above  manner, 
several  of  these  little  prisoners,  which  sometimes  followed 
foi^va  or  six  miles  close  to  our  horses'  heels,  and  even 
into  the  Fur  Company's  Fort,  and  into  the  stable  where  our 
horses  were  led.  In  this  way,  before  I  left  for  the  head 
waters  of  the  Missouri,  I  think  we  had  collected  about  a 
dozen,  which  Mr.  Laidlaw  was  successfully  raising  with  the 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


889 


aid  of  a  good  milch  cow,  and  which  were  to  be  committed 
to  the  care  of  Mr.  Chouteau  to  be  transported  by  the  return 
of  the  steamer,  to  his  extensive  plantation  in  the  vicinity 
joi  St.  Louia.* 

It  is  truly  a  melancholy  contemplation  for  the  traveller 
in  this  country,  to  anticipate  the  period  which  is  not  far 
distant,  when  the  last  of  these  noble  animals,  at  the  hands 
of  white  and  red  men,  will  fall  victims  to  their  cruel  and 
improvident  rapacity  ;  leaving  these  beautiful  green  fields, 
a  vast  and  idle  waste,  unstocked  and  unpeopled  for  ages  to 
come,  until  the  bones  of  the  one  and  the  traditions  of  the 
other  will  have  vanished,  and  left  scarce  an  intelligible 
trace  behind. 

That  the  reader  should  not  think  me  visionary  in  these 
contemplations,  or  romancing  in  making  such  assertions,  I 
will  hand  him  the  following  item  of  the  extravagances 
which  are  practiced  in  these  regions,  and  rapidly  leading  to 
the  results  which  I  have  just  named. 

When  I  first  arivcd  at  this  place,  on  my  way  up  the 
river,  which  was  in  the  month  of  May,  in  1832,  and  had 
taken  up  my  lodgings  in  the  Fur  Company's  Fort,  Mr. 
Laidlaw,  of  whom  I  have  before  spoken,  and  also  his  chief 
clerk,  Mr.  Halsey,  and  many  of  their  men,  as  well  as  the 
chiefs  of  the  Sioux,  told  me,  that  only  a  few  days  before  I 
arrived,  (when  an  immense  herd  bf  buflaloes  had  showed 
themselves  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river,  almost  black- 
ening the  plains  for  a  great  distance,)  a  party  of  five  or  six 
hundred  Sioux  Indians  on  horseback,  forded  the  river 
about  mid-day,  and  spending  a  few  hours  amongst  them 
recrossed  the  river  at  sun-down  and  came  into  the  Fort 
with  fourteen  hundred  fresh  buffalo  tongues,  which  were 


*  The  fate  of  these  poor  little  prisoners,  I  was  informed  on  my  return 
to  St.  Louis  a  year  afterwards,  was  a  very  disastrous  one.  The 
steamer  having  a  distance  of  sixteen  hundred  miles  to  perform,  and 
lying  a  week  or  two  on  sand  bars,  in  a  country  where  milk  could  not  bo 
procured,  they  all  perished  but  one,  which  is  now  flourishing  in  the 
cxtcDbivc  fields  of  this  gentleman. 


m 


890 


LETTERS  AXD  NOTES  ON  THE 


thrown  down  in  a  mass,  and  for  which  they  required  hut 
a  few  gallons  of  whiaky,  which  was  soon  demolished 
indulging  them  in  a  little,  and  harmless  carouse. 

This  profligate  waste  of  the  lives  of  these  nohlo  and  use% 
ful  animals,  when,  from  all  that  I  could  learn,  not  a  skin  or 
a  pound  of  the  meat  (except  the  tongues),  was  brought  in 
fully  supports  me  in  the  seemingly  extravagant  predictions 
that  I  have  made  as  to  their  extinction,  which  I  am  certain 
is  near  at  hand.  In  the  above  extravagant  instance,  at  a 
season  when  their  skins  were  without  fur  and  not  worth 
taking  off,  and  their  camp  was  so  well  stocked  with  fresh 
and  dried  meat,  that  they  had  no  occasion  for  using  the 
flesh,  there  is  a  fair  exhibition  of  the  improvident  character 
of  the  savage,  and  also  of  his  recklessness  in  catering  for 
his  appetite,  so  long  as  the  present  inducements  are  held 
out  to  him  in  his  country,  for  its  gratification. 

In  this  singular  country,  where  the  poor  Indians  have 
no  laws  or  regulations  of  society,  making  it  a  vice  or  an 
impropriety  to  drink  to  excea*!,  they  think  it  no  harm  to 
indulge  in  the  delicious  beverage,  as  long  as  they  are  able 
to  buy  whisky  to  drink.  They  look  to  white  men  as 
wiser  than  themselves,  and  able  to  set  them  examples—- 
they  see  none  of  these  in  their  country  but  sellers  of 
whisky,  who  are  constantly  tendering  it  to  them,  and  most 
of  them  setting  the  example  by  using  it  themselves;  and 
they  easily  acquire  a  taste,  that  to  be  catered  for,  where 
whisky  is  sold  at  sixteen  dollars  per  gallon,  soon  impove- 
rishes them,  and  must  soon  strip  the  skin  from  the  last 
buffalo's  back  that  lives  in  their  country,  to  "be  dressed 
by  their  squaws"  and  vended  to  the  Traders  for  a  pint  of 
diluted  alcohol. 

From  the  above  remarks  it  will  be  seen,  that  not  only 
the  red  men,  but  red  men  and  white,  have  aimed  destruc- 
tion at  the  race  of  those  animals;  and  with  thetn,  leasts 
have  turned  hunters  of  buffaloes  in  this  country,  slaying 
them,  however,  in  less  numbers,  and  for  fur  more  laudable 
purpose  than  that  of  selling  their  skins.    The  white  wolves, 


NORTH   AMERICAN   INDIAN'S. 


891 


of  which  *I  havo  spoken  in  a  former  epistle,  ftllow  tho 
herds  of  bufl'aloes  as  I  have  paid,  from  one  season  to 
another,  glutting  themselves  on  tlu  carcasses  of  those  that 
fall  by  tho  deadly  shaftH  of  their  enemi'^s,  or  linger  witli 
disease  or  old  age  to  bo  dispatched  by  these  sneaking 
cormorants,  who  aro  ready  at  all  times  kindly  to  relieve 
them  from  tho  pangs  of  a  lingering  death. 

Whilst  tho  herd  is  together  the  wolves  never  attack 
them,  as  they  instantly  gather  for  combined  resistance, 
which  they  effectually  make.  But  when  the  herds  are 
travelling,  it  often  happens  that  an  aged  or  wounded  one, 
lingers  at  a  distance  behind,  and  when  fairly  out  of  sight 
of  the  herd,  is  sot  upon  by  these  voracious  hunters,  which 
often  gather  to  the  number  of  fifty  or  more,  and  are  sure  at 
last  to  torture  him  to  death,  and  use  him  up  at  a  meal. 
The  buffalo,  however,  is  a  huge  and  furious  animal,  and 
when  his  retreat  is  cut  off,  makes  desperate  and  deadly 
resistance,  contending  to  tho  last  moment  for  the  right  of 
life — and  oftentimes  deals  death  by  wholesale,  to  his  canine 
assailants,  which  he  is  tossing  into  the  air  or  stamping  to 
death  under  his  feet. 

During  my  travels  in  these  regions,  I  have  several  times 
come  across  such  a  gang  of  these  animals  surrounding  an 
old  or  a  wounded  bull,  where  it  would  seem,  from  appear- 
ances, that  they  had  been  for  several  days  in  attendance, 
and  at  intervals  desperately  engaged  in  the  eftbrt  to  take 
his  life.  But  a  short  time  since,  as  one  of  my  hunting 
companions  and  myself  were  returning  to  our  encampment 
with  our  horses  loaded  with  meat,  we  discovered  at  a 
distance,  a  huge  bull,  encircled  with  a  gang  of  white 
wolves ;  we  rode  up  as  near  as  we  could  without  driving 
them  away,  and  being  within  pistol  shot,  we  had  a  remark- 
ably good  view,  where  I  sat  for  a  few  moments  and  made  a 
sketch  in  my  note-book ;  after  which,  we  rode  up  and  gave 
the  signal  for  them  to  disperse,  which  they  instantly  did, 
withdrawing  themselves  to  the  distance  of  fifty  or  sixty 


l'5 


rods,  when   we  found,   to   our 


great 


surprise,   that  the 


&.  ■'* 


■  '■':'%^ 


'-  .  -H 


892 


LETTERS  AXD  NOTES  OS  THE 


nnimal  had  made  desperate  resistance,  until  his  eyes  were 
entirely  eaten  out  of  his  head — the  gristle  of  his  nose  was 
mostly  gone — his  tongue  was  half  eaten  off,  and  the  skin 
and  flesh  of  his  legs  torn  almost  literally  into  strings.  In 
this  tattered  and  torn  condition,  the  poor  old  veteran  stood 
bracing  up  in  the  midst  of  his  devourers,  who  had  ceased 
hostilities  for  a  few  minutes,  to  enjoy  a  sort  of  parley, 
recovering  strength  and  preparing  to  resume  the  attack  in 
a  few  moments  again.  In  this  group,  some  were  reclining, 
to  gain  breath,  whilst  others  were  sneaking  about  and 
licking  their  chaps  in  anxiety  for  a  renewal  of  the  attack; 
and  others,  less  lucky,  had  been  crushed  to  death  by  the 
feet  or  the  horns  of  the  bull.  I  rode  nearer  to  the  pitiable 
object  as  he  stood  bleeding  and  trembling  before  me,  and 
said  to  him,  "  Now  is  your  time,  old  fellow,  and  you  had 
better  be  off."  Though  blind  and  nearly  destroyed,  there 
seemed  evidently  to  be  a  recognition  of  a  friend  in  me,  as 
he  straightened  up,  and  trembling  with  excitement,  dashed 
off  at  full  speed  upon  the  prairie,  in  a  straight  line.  We 
turned  our  horses  and  resumed  our  march,  and  when  we 
had  advanced  a  mile  or  more,  we  looked  back,  and  on  our 
left,  where  we  saw  again  the  ill-fated  animal  surrounded 
by  his  tormentors,  to  whose  insatiable  voracity  he  unques^ 
tionably  soon  fell  a  victim. 

Thus  much  I  wrote  of  the  buffaloes,  and  of  the  accidents 
that  befall  them,  as  well  as  of  the  fate  that  awaits  them ; 
and  before  I  closed  my  book,  I  strolled  out  one  day  to  the 
shade  of  a  plum-tree,  Avhere  I  laid  in  the  grass  on  a  favorite 
bluff,  and  wrote  thus: — 

"  It  is  generally  supposed,  and  flimiliarly  said,  that  a 
man  ^falls'  into  a  reverie ;  but  I  seated  myself  in  the  shade 
a  few  minutes  since,  resolved  to  force  myself  into  one ;  and 
for  tliis  purpose  I  laid  open  a  stnall  poekct-map  of  North 
America,  and  excluding  my  thoughts  from  every  otlicr 
object  in  the  worM,  I  .so  *n  succeeded  in  producing  the 
desired  illusion.  I'hi.-;  little  chart,  over  which  I  bent,  was 
Been  in  all  its  parts,  as  nu'Jiing  but  the  green  and  vivid 


ii.  .1 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


893 


reality.  I  was  lifted  u'^  upon  an  imaginary  pair  of  wings, 
which  easily  raised  an  '  held  me  floating  in  the  open  air, 
from  whence  I  could  behold  beneath  me  the  Pacific  and 
the  Atlantic  Oceans — the  great  cities  of  the  East,  and  the 
mighty  rivers.  I  could  see  the  blue  chain  of  the  great 
lakes  at  the  North — the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  beneath 
them  and  near  their  base,  the  vast,  and  almost  boundless 
plains  of  grass,  which  were  speckled  with  the  bands  of 
grazing  buffaloes  1 

"  The  world  turned  gently  around,  and  I  examined  its 
surface;  continent  after  continent  passed  under  my  eye, 
and  yet  amidst  them  all,  I  saw  not  the  vast  and  vivid 
green,  that  is  spread  like  a  carpet  over  the  Western  wilds 
of  my  own  country.  I  saw  not  elsewhere  in  the  world,  the 
myriad  herds  of  buffaloes — my  eyes  scanned  in  vain,  for 
they  were  not.  And  when  I  turned  again  to  the  wilds  of 
my  native  land,  I  beheld  them  all  in  motion  1  For  the 
distance  of  several  hundred  miles  from  North  to  South, 
they  were  wheeling  about  in  vast  columns  and  herds — 
some  were  scattered,  and  ran  with  furious  wildness — some 
lay  dead,  and  others  were  pawing  the  earth  for  a  hiding- 
place — some  were  sinking  down  and  dying,  gushing  out 
their  life's  blood  in  deep  drawn  sighs — and  others  were 
contending  in  furious  battle  for  the  life  they  possessed,  and 
the  ground  that  they  stood  upon.  They  had  long  since 
assembled  from  the  thickets,  and  secret  haunts  of  the  deep 
forest,  into  the  midst  of  the  treeless  and  bushless  plains,  as 
the  place  for  their  safety.  I  could  see  in  an  hundred 
places,  amid  the  wheeling  bands,  and  on  their  skirts  and 
flanks,  the  leaping  wild  horse  darting  among  them.  I  saw 
not  the  arrows,  nor  heard  the  twang  of  the  sinewy  bows 
that  sent  them;  but  I  saw  their  victims  fall! — on  other 
steeds  that  rushed  along  their  sides,  I  saw  the  glistening 
lances,  which  seemed  to  lay  across  them ;  their  blades  wore 
blazing  in  the  sun,  till  dipped  in  blood,  and  then  I  lost 
them!  In  other  parts  (and  there  were  many),  the  vivid 
flash  ofjire-arms  was  soon — their  victims  fell  too,  and  over 


■•"tuiii 


r 


894 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


their  dead  bodies  hung  suspended  in  air,  little  clouds  of 
whitened  smoke,  from  under  which  the  flying  horsemen 
had  darted  forward  to  mingle  again  with,  and  deal  death 
to,  the  trampling  throng. 

"  So  strange  were  men  mixed  (both  red  and  white)  with 
the  countless  herds  that  wheeled  and  eddyed  about,  that  all 
below  seemed  one  vast  extended  field  of  battle — whole 
armies,  in  some  places,  seemed  to  blacken  the  earth's 
surface; — in  other  parts,  regiments,  battalions,  wings, 
platoons,  rank  and  file,  and  ^^  Indian  fiW^ — all  were  in 
motion :  and  death  and  destruction  seemed  to  be  the 
watch-word  amongst  them.  In  their  turmoil,  they  sent  up 
great  clouds  of  dust,  and  with  them  came  the  mingled  diu 
of  groans  and  trampling  hoofs,  that  seemed  like  the  rum- 
bling of  a  dreadful  cataract,  or  the  roaring  of  distant 
thunder.  Alternate  pity  and  admiration  harrowed  up  in 
my  bosom  and  my  brain,  many  a  hidden  thought;  and 
amongst  them  a  few  of  the  beautiful  notes  that  were  once 
Bung,  and  exactly  in  point ;  *  Quadrupedante  putrem  sonitu 
quatit  ungula  campum. '  Even  such  was  the  din  amidst  the 
quadrupeds  of  these  vast  plains.  And  from  the  craggy 
cliffe  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  also  were  seen  descending 
into  the  valley,  the  myriad  Tartars  who  had  not  horses  to 
ride,  but  before  their  well-drawn  bows  the  fattest  of  the 
herds  were  falling.  Hundreds  and  thousands  were  strewed 
upon  the  plains — they  were  flayed,  and  their  reddened  car- 
casses left;  and  about  them  bands  of  wolves,  and  dogs, 
and  buzzards  were  seen  devouring  them.  Contiguous,  and 
in  sight,  were  the  distant  and  feeble  smokes  of  wigwams 
and  villages,  where  the  skins  were  dragged,  and  dressed  for 
white  man's  luxury  I  where  they  were  all  sold  for  whisky, 
and  the  poor  Indians  laid  drunk  and  were  crying.  I  cast 
my  eyes  into  the  towns  and  cities  of  the  East,  and  there  I 
beheld  buffiilo  robes  hanging  at  almost  every  door  for 
traffic ;  and  I  saw  also  the  curling  smokes  of  a  thousand 
Stills — and  I  said,  '  Oh  insatiable  man,  is  tliy  avarice  such ! 
wouldst  thou  tear  the  skin  from   the   back  of  the  last 


NOBTU  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


895 


animal  of  this  noble  race,  and  rob  thyfelhw-man  of  his  tneatf 
and/or  it  give  him  poiaon  I ' "     *         *  *        »         * 

*»  «»»  «#« 

Many  are  the  rudenesses  and  wilds  in  Nature's  works 
which  are  destined  to  fall  before  the  deadly  axe  and  deso- 
lating hands  of  cultivating  man;  and  so  amongst  her 
ranks  of  living^  of  beasts  and  human,  we  often  find  noble 
stamps,  or  beautiful  colors,  to  which  our  admiraaon 
clings ;  and  even  in  the  overwhelming  march  of  civilized 
improvements  and  refinements  do  we  love  to  cherish  their 
existence,  and  lend  our  efforts  to  preserve  them  in  their 
primitive  rudeness.  Such  of  Nature's  works  are  always 
worthy  of  our  preservation  and  protection ;  and  the  further 
we  become  separated  (and  the  face  of  the  country)  froni 
that  pristine  wildness  and  beauty,  the  more  pleasure  does 
the  mind  of  enlightened  man  feel  in  recurring  to  those 
scenes,  whore  he  can  have  them  preserved  for  his  eyes  and 
his  mind  to  dwell  upon. 

Of  such  "  rudenesses  and  wilds,"  Nature  has  no  where 
presented  more  beautiful  and  lovely  scenes,  than  those  of 
the  vast  prairies  of  the  West ;  and  of  man  and  heast,  no 
nobler  specimens  than  those  who  inhabit  them — the  Indian 
and  the  buffalo — joint  and  original  tenants  of  the  soil,  and 
fugitives  together  from  the  approach  of  civilized  man; 
they  have  fled  to  the  great  plains  of  the  "West,  and  there, 
under  an  equal  doom,  they  have  taken  up  their  last  abode, 
where  their  race  will  expire,  and  their  bones  will  bleach 
together. 

It  may  be  that  power  is  right  and  voracity  a  virtue ;  and 
that  these  people,  and  these  uoble  animals,  are  righteously 
doomed  to  an  issue  that  will  not  be  averted.  It  can  be 
easily  proved — we  have  a  civilized  science  that  can  easily 
do  it,  or  anything  else  that  may  be  required  to  cover  the 
iniquities  of  civilized  man  in  catering  for  his  unholy  appe- 
tites. It  can  be  proved  that  the  weak  and  ignorant  have  no 
rights — that  there  can  be  no  virtue  in  darkness — that  God's 
gifts  have  no  meaning  or  merit  until  they  are  appropriated 


896 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON   THE 


by  civilized  man — by  him  brought  into  the  light,  and  con- 
verted to  hid  use  and  luxury.  We  have  a  mode  of 
reasoning  (I  forget  what  it  is  called)  by  which  all  this  can 
be  proved,  and  even  more.  The  word  and  the  system  are 
entirely  of  civilized  origin ;  and  latitude  is  admirably  given 
to  them  in  proportion  to  the  increase  of  civilized  wants 
which  often  require  a  judge  to  overrule  the  laws  of  nature. 
I  say  that  ive  can  prove  such  things ;  but  an  Indian  cannot. 
It  is  a  mode  of  reasoning  unknown  to  him  in  his  nature's 
simplicity,  but  admirably  adapted  to  subserve  the  interests 
of  the  enlightened  world,  who  are  always  their  own  judges 
when  dealing  with  the  savage ;  and  who,  in  the  present 
refined  age,  have  many  appetites  that  can  only  be  lawfully 
indulged,  by  proving  God's  laws  defective. 

It  is  not  enough  in  this  polished  and  extravagant  a^e 
that  we  get  from  the  Indian  his  lands,  and  the  very  clothes 
from  his  back,  but  the  food  from  their  mouths  must  be 
stopped,  to  add  a  new  and  useless  article  to  the  fashionable 
world's  luxuries.  The  ranks  must  be  thinned,  and  the  race 
exterminated,  of  this  noble  animal,  and  the  Indians  of  the 
great  plains  left  without  the  means  of  supporting  life,  that 
white  men  may  figure  a  few  years  longer,  enveloped  in 
bufialo  robes — that  they  may  spread  them,  for  their 
pleasure  and  elegance  over  the  backs  of  their  sleighs,  and 
trail  them  ostentatiously  amidst  the  busy  throng,  as 
things  of  beauty  and  elegance  that  had  been  made  for 
them! 

Ecader !  listen  to  the  following  calculations,  and  forget 
them  not.  The  buffaloes  (the  quadrupeds  from  whose  backs 
your  beautiful  robes  were  taken,  and  whose  myriads  were 
once  spread  over  the  whole  country,  from  the  Rocky 
Mountains  to  the  Atlantic  Ocean)  have  recently  fled  before 
the  appalling  appearance  of  civilized  man,  and  taken  up 
their  abode  and  pasturage  amid  the  almost  boundless 
prairies  of  the  West.  An  instinctive  dread  of  their  deadly 
Iocs,  wlio  made  an  easy  prey  of  them  whilst  grazing  in  the 
forest,    has  lead  tlieni  to  seek  the  midst  of  the  vast  and 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


897 


treeless  plains  of  grass,  as  the  spot  where  they  would  be 
least  exposed  to  the  assaults  of  their  enemies  ;  and  it  is  ex- 
clusively in  those  desolate  fields  of  silence  (yet  of  beauty) 
that  they  are  to  be  found — and  over  these  vast  steppes,  or 
prairies,  have  they  fled  like  the  Indian,  towards  the  "set- 
ting sun ;"  until  their  bands  have  been  crowded  together, 
and  their  limits  confined  to  a  narrow  strip  of  country  on 
this  side  of  the  Rooky  Mountains. 

This  strip  of  country,  which  extends  from  the  province 
of  Mexico  to  Lake  "Winnepeg  on  the  North  is  almost  one 
entire  plain  of  grass,  which  is,  and  ever  must  be,  useless 
to  cultivating  man.  It  is  here,  and  here  chiefly,  that  the 
buffiiloes  dwell ;  and  with,  and  hovering  about  them,  live 
and  flourish  the  tribes  of  Indians,  whom  God  made  for 
the  enjoyment  of  that  fair  land  and  its  luxuries. 

It  is  a  melancholy  contemplation  for  one  who  has 
travelled,  as  I  have,  through  these  realms,  and  seen  this 
noble  animal  in  all  its  pride  and  glory,  to  contemplate  it  so 
rapidly  wasting  from  the  world,  drawing  the  irresistible 
conclusion,  too,  which  one  must  do,  that  its  species  is  soon 
to  be  extinguished,  and  with  it  the  peace  and  happiness  (if 
not  the  actual  existence)  of  the  tribes  of  Indians  who  are 
joint  tenants  with  ihem,  in  the  occupancy  of  these  vast  and 
idle  plains. 

And  what  a  splendid  contemplation  too,  when  one  (who 
has  travelled  these  realms,  and  can  duly  appreciate  them) 
imagines  them  as  they  might  in  future  be  seen,  (by  some 
great  protecting  policy  of  government)  preserved  in  their 
pristine  beauty  and  wildness,  in  a  magnificent  parh,  where 
the  world  could  see  for  ages  to  come,  the  native  Indian  in 
his  classic  attire,  galloping  his  wild  horse  with  sinewy  bow, 
and  shield  and  lance,  amid  the  fleeting  herds  of  elks  and 
buffaloes.  What  a  beautiful  and  thrilling  specimen  for 
America  to  preserve  and  hold  up  to  the  view  of  her  refined 
citizens  and  the  world,  in  future  ages!  A  nation's  Parh, 
containing  man  and  beast,  in  all  the  wildness  and  fresh- 
ness of  their  nature's  beauty ! 


:if 


FS'-  i- 


W'.i" 


«1 


UiTf 

f-  y,  I 

¥  ■ 
J? 


898 


LETTERS  AND  K0TE3  ON  THE 


I  would  ask  no  other  monument  to  my  memory,  nor 
any  other  enrolment  of  my  name  amongst  the  famous  dead 
than  the  reputation  of  having  been  the  founder  of  such  an 
institution. 

Such  scenes  might  easily  have  been  preserved,  and  still 
could  be  cherished  on  the  great  plains  of  the  West,  with- 
out detriment  to  the  country  or  its  borders ;  for  the  tracts 
of  country  on  which  the  buffaloes  have  assembled,  are 
uniformly  sterile,  and  of  no  available  use  to  cultivating 
man. 

It  is  on  these  plains,  which  are  stocked  with  buffaloes 
that  the  finest  specimens  of  the  Indian  race  are  to  be  seen. 
It  is  here,  that  the  savage  is  decorated  in  the  richest  cos- 
tume. It  is  here,  and  here  only,  that  his  wants  are  all 
satisfied,  and  even  the  luxuries  of  life  are  afforded  him  in 
abundance.  And  here  also  is  he  the  proud  and  honorable 
man  (before  he  has  had  teachers  or  laws,  about  the  im- 
portant wants,  which  beget  meanness  and  vice) ;  stimulated 
by  ideas  of  honor  and  vii-tue,  in  which  the  Go'l  of  Nature 
has  certainly  not  curtailed  him. 

There  are,  by  a  fair  calculatio'i,  more  than  three  hun 
dred  thousand  Indians,  who  are  now  subsisted  on  the  flesh 
of  the  buffaloes,  and  by  those  animals  supplied  with  all  the 
luxuries  of  life  which  they  desire,  as  they  know  of  none 
others.  The  great  variety  of  uses  to  which  they  convert 
the  body  and  other  parts  of  that  animal,  are  almost  in- 
credible to  the  person  who  has  not  actually  dwelt  amongst 
these  people,  and  closely  studied  their  modes  and  customs. 
Every  part  of  their  flesh  is  converted  into  food,  in  one 
shape  or  another,  and  on  it  they  entirely  subsist.  The 
robf^s  of  the  animals  are  worn  by  the  Indians  instead  of 
blankets — their  skins  when  tanned,  are  used  as  coverings 
for  their  lodges  and  for  their  beds;  undressed,  they  are 
used  for  constructing  canoes — for  saddles,  for  bridles— 
I'arrC'ts,  lasos,  and  thongs.  The  horns  are  shaped  into 
ladles  and  spoons — the  brains  are  used  for  dicssin-;  tl;o 
skins— th  >ii'  bones  are  used  for  saddle  trees — for  war  clubs, 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


899 


and  scrapers  for  graining  the  robes— and  others  are  broken 
up  for  the  marrow-fat  which  is  contained  in  them.  Their 
sinews  are  used  for  strings  and  backs  to  their  bows — 
for  thread  to  string  their  beads  and  sew  their  dresses. 
The  feet  of  the  animals  are  boiled,  with  their  hoofs,  for  the 
glue  thoy  contain,  for  fastening  their  arrow-points,  and 
many  other  uses.  The  hair  from  the  head  and  shoulders, 
which  is  long,  is  twisted  and  braided  into  halters,  and  the 
tail  is  used  for  a  fly  brush.  In  this  wise  do  these  people 
convert  and  use  the  various  parts  of  this  useful  animal, 
and  with  all  these  luxuries  of  life  about  them,  and  their 
numerous  games,  they  are  happy  (God  bless  them)  in  the 
ignorance  of  the  disastrous  fate  that  awaits  them. 

Yet  this  interesting  community,  with  its  sports,  its 
wildnesses,  its  languages,  and  all  its  manners  and  customs, 
could  be  perpetuated,  and  also  the  buffaloes,  whose  numbers 
would  increase  and  supply  them  with  food  for  ages  and 
centuries  to  come,  if  a  system  of  non-intercourse  could  be 
established  and  preserved.  But  such  is  not  to  be  the  case 
—the  buffalo's  doom  is  sealed,  and  with  their  extinction 
must  assuredly  sink  into  real  despair  and  starvation,  the 
inhabitants  of  theso  vast  plains,  which  afford  for  the  Indians, 
no  other  possible  means  of  subsistence ;  and  they  must  at 
last  fall  a  prey  to  wolves  and  buzzards,  who  will  have  no 
other  bones  to  pick. 

It  seems  hard  and  cruel,  (does  it  not  ?)  that  we  civilized 
people  with  all  the  luxuries  and  comforts  of  the  world  about 
us,  should  be  drawing  from  the  backs  of  t1  ^se  useful  animals 
the  skins  for  our  luxury,  leaving  their  carcasses  to  be 
devoured  by  the  wolves — that  we  should  draw  from  that 
country,  some  one  hundred  and  fifty  or  two  hundred 
thousand  of  their  robes  annually,  the  greater  part  of  which 
arc  taken  from  animals  that  are  killed  expressly  for  the 
robe,  at  a  season  when  the  meat  is  not  cured  and  preserved, 
and  for  each  of  which  skins  the  Indian  has  received  but  a 
pint  of  whisky. 

Such  is  the  fact,  and  that  number  or  near  it  arp  annually 


i'  ^s 


Mi 


400 


LETTER3  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


destroyed,  in  addition  to  the  number  that  is  necessarilv 
killed    for    the    subsistence  of  three    hundred    thousand 
Indians,  who  live  entirely  upon  them.    It  may  be  said 
perhaps,  that  the  Fur  Trade  of  these  great  western  realms 
which  is  now  limited  chiefly  to  the  purchase  of  buffalo  robes 
is  of  great  and  national  importance,  and  should  and  must  be 
encouraged.     To  such   a   suggestion   I  would   reply,  by 
merely    enquiring    (independently   of   the   poor    Indians' 
disasters,)  how  much  more  advantageously  would  such  a 
capital  be  employed,  both  for  the  weal  of  the  country  and 
for  the  owners,  if  it  were  invested  in  machines  for  the 
manufacture  of  woolen  robes,  of  equal  and  superior  value 
and  beauty ;  thereby  encouraging  the  growers  of  wool,  and 
the  industrious  manufacturer,  rather  than  cultivating  a  taste 
for  the  use  of  buffalo  skins ;  which  is  just  to  be  acquired 
and  then,  from  necessity,  to  be  dispensed  with,  when  a  few 
years  shall  have  destroyed  the  last  of  the  animals  producing 
them. 

It  may  be  answered,  perhaps,  that  the  necessaries  of  life 
are  given  in  exchange  for  these  robes ;  but  what,  I  would 
ask,  are  the  necessities  in  Indian  life,  where  they  have 
buffaloes  in  abundance  to  live  on  ?  The  Indian's  necessities 
are  entirely  artificial  —  are  all  created ;  and  when  the 
buffaloes  shall  have  disappeared  in  his  country,  which  will 
be  within  eight  or  ten  years,  I  would  ask,  who  is  to  supply 
him  with  the  necessarie3  of  life  then  ?  and  I  would  ask, 
further,  (and  leave  the  question  to  be  answered  ten  years 
hence),  when  the  skins  shall  have  been  stripped  from  the 
back  of  the  last  animal,  who  is  to  resist  the  ravages  of 
three  hundred  thousand  starving  savages;  and  in  their 
trains,  one  million  five  hundred  thousand  wolves,  whom 
direst  necessity  will  have  driven  from  their  desolate  and 
gamcless  plains,  to  seek  for  the  means  of  subsistence  along 
our  exposed  frontier?  God  has  everywhere  supplied  man 
in  a  state  of  Nature,  with  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  before 
we  de.  troy  the  game  of  his  country,  or  teach  him  new 
desires,  he  ^as  no  wants  that  are  not  satisfied. 


NORTn   AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


401 


Amongst  the  tribes  who  have  been  impoverished  and 
repeatedly  removed,  the  necessaries  of  life  are  extended 
with  a  better  grace  from  the  hands  of  civilized  man; 
ninety  thousand  of  such  have  already  been  removed,  and 
they  draw  from  Government  some  five  or  six  hundred 
thousand  dollars  annually  in  cash ;  which  money  passes 
immediately  into  the  hands  of  white  wen,  and  for  it  the 
necessaries  of  life  may  be  abundantly  furnished.  But  who, 
I  would  ask,  are  to  furnish  the  Indians  who  have  been 
instructed  in  this  unnatural  mode  —  living  upon  such 
necessaries,  and  even  luxuries  of  life,  extended  to  them  by 
the  hands  of  white  men,  when  those  annuities  are  at  an  end, 
and  the  skin  is  stripped  from  the  last  of  the  animals  which 
God  gave  them  for  their  subsistence  ? 

Eeader,  I  will  stop  here,  lest  you  might  forget  to  answer 
these  important  queries — these  are  questions  which  I  know 
will  puzzle  the  world — and,  perhaps  it  is  not  right  that  I 
should  ask  them.  »  *  *  » 

****** 
*  *  Thus  much  I  wrote  and  painted 

at  this  place,  whilst  on  my  way  up  the  river :  after  which  I 
embarked  on  the  steamer  for  the  Yellow  Stone,  and  the 
sources  of  the  Missouri,  through  which  interesting  regions 
I  have  made  a  successful  Tour ;  and  have  returned,  as  will 
have  been  seen  by  the  foregoing  narrations,  in  my  canoe, 
to  this  place,  from  whence  I  am  to  descend  the  river  still 
further  in  a  few  days.  If  I  ever  get  time,  I  may  give 
further  Notes  on  this  place,  and  of  people  and  their  doings, 
which  I  met  with  here ;  but  at  present,  I  throw  my  note- 
book, and  canvass,  and  brushes  into  my  canoe,  which  will 
he  launched  to-morrow  morning,  and  on  its  way  towards 
St.  Louis,  with  myself  at  the  steering-oar,  as  usual;  and 
with  Ba'tiste  and  Bogard  to  paddle,  of  whom,  I  beg  the 
reader's  pardon  for  having  said  nothing  of  late,  though  they 
have  been  my  constant  companions.  Our  way  is  now  over 
the  foaming  and  muddy  waters  of  the  Missouri,  and  amid 
snags  and  drift  logs  (for  there  is  a  sweeping  freshet  on  her 

26 


> 


|i 


:P|::n:;--';i 


402 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES. 


waters),  and  many  a  day  will  pass  before  other  Letters  will 
come  from  me ;  and  possibly,  the  reader  may  have  to  look 
to  my  biographer  for  the  rest.    Adieu.  . , 


■  r         r  f  , 


1  -u- 


.      LETTER  No.  XXXH. 

FORT  LEAVENWORTH,  LOWER  MISSOURI. 

The  readers,  I  presume,  will  have  felt  some  anxiety  for 
me  and  the  fate  of  my  little  craft,  after  the  close  of  my  last 
Letter ;  and  I  have  the  very  great  satisfaction  of  announcing 
to  them  that  we  escaped  snags  and  sawyers,  and  every  other 
clanger,  and  arrived  here  safe  from  the  Upper  Missouri, 
where  my  last  letters  were  dated.  We,  (th<at  is,  Ba'tiste, 
Bogard  and  I,)  are  comfortably  quartered  for  awhile,  in 
the  barracks  of  this  hospitable  Cantonment,  which  is  now 
the  extreme  "Western  military  post  on  the  frontier,  and 
under  the  command  of  Colonel  Davenport,  a  gentleman  of 
great  urbanity  of  manners,  with  a  Roman  head  and  a 
Grecian  heart,  restrained  and  tempered  by  the  charms  of 

(403) 


'Til 


404 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  OV  THE 


an  American  Luly,  who  has  elegantly  pioneered  the  graces 
of  civilized  rotinements  into  those  uncivilized  regions. 

This  Cantonment,  which  is  beautifully  situated  on  the 
west  bank  of  the  Missouri  River,  and  six  hundred  miles 
above  its  mouth,  was  constructed  some  years  since  by 
General  Leavenworth,  from  whom  it  has  taken  its  name. 
Its  location  is  very  beautiful,  and  so  is  the  country  around 
it.  It  is  the  concentration  point  of  a  number  of  hostile 
tribes  in  the  vicinity,  and  ha.s  its  influence  in  rcstrainin" 
their  warlike  propen.ities. 

There  is  generally  a  regiment  of  men  stationed  here,  for 
the  purpose  of  holding  the  Indians  in  check,  and  of  pre- 
serving the  peace  amongst  the  hostile  tribes.  I  shall  visit 
several  tribes  in  this  vicinity,  and  most  assuredly  give  you 
some  further  account  of  them,  as  fast  as  I  get  it. 

Since  the  date  of  my  last  epistle,  I  succeeded  in 
descending  the  river  to  this  place,  in  my  little  canoe, 
with  my  two  men  at  the  oars,  and  myself  at  the  helm, 
steering  its  course  the  whole  way  amongst  snags  and 
sand-bars. 

Before  I  give  further  account  of  this  downward  voyage, 
however,  I  must  recur  back  for  a  few  moments,  to  the 
Teton  River,  from  whence  I  started,  and  from  whence  my 
last  epistles  were  written,  to  record  a  few  more  incidents 
which  I  then  overlooked  in  my  note-book.  Whilst 
painting  my  portraits  amongst  the  Sioux,  as  I  have 
described,  I  got  the  portrait  of  a  noble  Shienno  chief,  by 
the  name  of  Nec-hee-o-ec-woo-tis  (the  wolf  on  the  hill). 
The  chief  of  a  party  of  that  tribe,  on  a  friendly  visit  to  the 
Sioux,  and  the  portrait  also  of  a  woman,  Tissoe-woo-na-tis 
(she  who  bathes  her  knees).  The  Shiennes  are  a  small 
tribe  of  about  three  thousand  in  numbers,  living  neighbors 
to  the  Sioux,  on  the  west  of  them,  and  between  the  Black 
Hills  and  the  Rocky  Mountains.  There  is  no  finer  race  of 
men  tlian  these  in  North  Amorio.i,  and  none  superior  in 
stature,  excepting  the  Osagos;  scarr  ]y  a  man  in  the  tribe, 
full  grown,   who    is  less   than   six  fcot  in   height.    The 


NOKTU    AMKUICAX    INDIANS. 


405 


Sliicnncs  arc  undoubledly  tlio  ricbcat  in  horses  of  any 
tribo  on  tbo  Continent,  living  iu  a  country  as  tboy  do, 
where  tho  greatest  hcrdd  of  wild  horses  are  grazing  on  the 
prairies,  which  the)  catch  in  great  numbers  and  vend  to 
tlie  Sioux,  Mundana  and  other  tribes,  as  well  as  to  the  Fur 
Traders. 

These  pcoj)lo  are  tho  most  desperate  set  of  horsemen, 
and  warriors  also,  having  carried  on  almost  unceasing  wars 
with  tho  Pawnees  and  Blackfect,.  "  time  out  of  mind."  Tho 
chief  was  clothed  in  a  handsome  dress  of  deer  skins,  very 
neatly  garnished  with  broad  bands  of  porcupine  quill 
work  down  tho  sleeves  of  his  shirt  and  his  leggings,  and 
all  the  way  fringed  with  scalp-locks.  His  hair  was  very 
profuse,  and  flowing  over  his  shoulders ;  and  in  his  hand 
bo  held  a  beautiful  Sioux  pipe,  which  had  just  been  pre- 
sented to  him  by  Mr.  M'Kenzio,  the  Trader.  This  was 
one  of  the  finest-looking  and  most  dignified  men  that  I 
have  met  in  the  Indian  country ;  and  from  the  account 
given  of  him  by  the  Traders  a  man  of  honor  and  strictest 
integrity.  Tho  woman  was  comely,  and  beautifully 
dressed ;  her  dress  of  the  mountain-sheep  skins,  tastefully 
ornamented  with  quills  and  beads,  and  her  hair  plaited 
iu  large  braids,  that  hung  down  on  her  breast. 

After  I  had  painted  these  and  many  more,  whom  I  have 
not  time  at  present  to  name,  I  painted  the  portrait  of  a 
celebrated  warrior  of  the  Sioux,  by  the  name  of  Mah-to- 
chee-ga  (the  little  bear),  who  was  unfortunately  slain  in 
a  few  moments  after  the  picture  was  done,  by  one  of  his 
own  tribe ;  and  which  was  very  near  costing  me  my  life 
for  having  painted  a  side  view  of  his  face,  leaving  one-half 
of  it  out  of  the  picture,  which  had  been  the  cause  of  the 
afi'ray;  and  supposed  by  the  whole  tribe  to  have  been 
intentionally  left  out  by  me,  as  "  good  for  nothing."  This 
was  the  last  picture  that  I  painted  amongst  the  Sioux,  and 
the  last,  undoubtedly,  that  I  ever  shall  paint  iu  that  place. 
So  tremendous  and  so  alarming  was  the  <:'xutenient  about  it, 
ray  brushes  were  instantly  put  away,  and  I  embarked  the 


iSiii'i 


mi 


"■■^'ffe, 


hi- ',  M 
fill  »■  M 


i"''     t' 


^t^ 


406 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


next  day  on  the  steamer  for  the  sources  of  the  Missouri 
and  was  glad  to  get  underweigh. 

The  man  who  slew  this  noble  warrior  was  a  troublesome 
fellow  of  the  same  tribe,  by  the  name  of  Shon-ka  (the  dog). 
A  "hue  and  cry"  has  been  on  his  track  for  several 
months ;  and  my  life  having  beeu  repeatedly  threatened 
during  my  absence  up  the  river,  I  shall  defer  telling  the 
whole  of  this  most  extraordinary  affair,  until  I  see  that  my 
own  scalp  is  safe,  and  I  am  successfully  out  of  the  country. 
A  few  weeks  or  months  will  decide  how  many  are  to  fall 
victims  to  the  vengeance  of  the  relatives  of  this  murdered 
brave;  and  if  I  outlive  the  affair,  I  shall  certainly  give 
some  further  account  of  it  * 

My  voyage  from  the  mouth  of  the  Teton  Elver  to  this 
place  has  been  the  most  rugged,  yet  the  most  delightful,  of 
my  whole  Tour.  Our  canoe  was  generally  landed  at  night 
on  the  point  of  some  project' ng  barren  sand-bar,  where  wo 
straightened  our  limbs  on  our  buffalo  robes,  secure  from 
the  annoyance  of  mosquitoes,  and  out  of  the  walks  of 
Indians  and  grizzly  bears.  In  addition  to  the  opportunity 
which  this  descending  Tour  has  afforded  me,  of  visiting  all 
the  tribes  of  Indians  ou  the  river,  and  leisurely  filling  my 
portfolio  with  the  beautiful  scenery  which  its  sliores 
present — the  sportsman's  fever  was  roused  and  satisfied- 
the  swan,  ducks,  geese,  and  pelicans — the  deer,  antelope 
elk,  and  buffaloes,  were  ^^ stretclMC  by  our  rifles;  and  some 
times — "pull,  boysl  pull  II  a  war  party!  for  your  lives 
pull!  or  we  are  gone!" 

I  often  landed  my  skiff,  and  mounted  the  green-carpeted 
bluffs,  whose  soft  grassy  tops,  invited  me  to  recline,  where 
I  was  at  once  lost  in  contemplation.  Soul-melting  scenery 
that  was  about  me  I  A  place  where  the  mind  could  think 
volumes!  but  the  tongue  must  be  silent  that  would  spmk^ 
and  the  hand  palsied  that  would  write.     A  place  where  a 

•  9orac  months  after  writing  the  above,  and  after  I  had  arrived  safe 
in  St.  Louis,  the  news  reached  there  that  the  Dog  had  been  ovcrtakon 
and  Jtilled,  and  a  brother  of  his  also,  and  the  affair  thus  settled. 


NOr.TH   AMERICAN   INDIANS. 


407 


divine  would  confess  that  he  never  had  fancied  Paradise— 
where  the  painters'  palette  would  lose  its  beautiful  tints 
— the  blood-stirring  notes  of  eloquence  would  die  in  their 
utterance — and  even  the  soft  tones  of  sweet  music  would 
scarcely  preserve  a  spark  to  light  the  soul  again  that  had 
passed  tliis  sweet  delirium.  I  mean  the  prairie,  whose 
enamelled  plains  that  lie  beneath  me,  in  distance  soften 
into  sweetness,  like  an  essence;  whose  thousand  thousand 
velvet- covered  hills,  (surely  never  formed  by  chance,  but 
grouped  in  one  of  Nature's  sportive  moods) — tossing  and 
leaping  down  with  steep  or  graceful  declivities  to  the 
river's  edge,  as  if  to  grace  its  pictured  shores,  and  make  it 
"  a  thing  to  look  upon."  1  mean  the  prairie  at  sunset; 
when  the  green  hill-tops  are  turned  into  gold — and  their 
long  shadows  of  melancholy  are  thrown  over  the  valleys — 
when  aU  the  breathings  of  day  are  hushed,  and  nought  but 
the  soft  notes  of  the  retiring  dove  can  be  heard ;  or  the 
still  softer  and  more  plaintive  notes  of  the  wolf,  who  sneaks 
through  these   scenes  of   enchantment,    and   mournfully 

how — 1 ^s,  as  if  lonesome,  and  lost  in  the  too-beautiful 

quiet  and  stillness  about  him.  I  mean  this  prairie ;  where 
Heaven  sheds  its  purest  light,  and  lends  its  richest  tints 
— this  round-top'd  bluff. 

"  Floyd's  Grave"  is  a  name  given  to  one  of  the  most 
lovely  and  imposing  mounds  or  bluffs  on  the  Missouri 
Eiver,  about  twelve  hundred  miles  above  St.  Louis,  from 
the  melancholy  fate  of  Serjeant  Floyd,  who  was  of  Lewis 
and  Clarke's  expedition,  in  1806 ;  who  died  on  the  way,  and 
whose  body  was  taken  to  this  beautiful  hill,  and  buried  in 
its  top  where  now  stands  a  cedar  post,  bearing  the  initials 
of  his  name,  ' 

I  landed  my  canoe  in  front  of  this  grass-covered  mound , 
and  all  hands  being  fatigued,  wc  encamped  a  couple  of 
days  at  its  base.  I  several  times  ascended  it  and  sat  upon 
his  grave,  overgrown  with  grass  and  the  most  delicate  wild 
flowers,  where  I  sat  and  contemplated  the  solitude  and 
stillness  of  this  tenanted  mound ;  and  beheld  from  its  top, 


:■  ;■•  Is. '  I  ' 


408 


LETIEUS   AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


the  windings  infinite  of  the  Missouri,  and  its  thousand 
hills  and  domes  of  green,  vanishing  into  blue  in  distance 
when  nought  but  the  soft-breathing  winds  were  heard  to 
break  the  stillness  and  quietude  of  the  scene.  Where  not 
the  chirping  of  bird  or  sound  of  cricket,  nor  soaring  eagle's 
scream,  were  interposed  'tween  God  and  man ;  nor  aught  to 
check  man's  whole  surrender  of  his  soul  to  his  Creator,  I 
could  not  hxmt  upon  this  ground,  but  I  roamed  from  hill-top 
to  hill-top,  and  culled  wild  flowers,  and  looked  into  the 
valley  below  me,  both  up  the  river  and  down,  and  contem- 
plated the  thousand  hills  and  dales  that  are  now  carpeted 
with  green,  streaked  as  they  will  be,  with  the  plough,  and 
yellow  with  the  harvest  sheaf;  spotted  with  lowing  kine — 
with  houses  and  fences,  and  groups  of  hamlets  and  villas — 
and  these  lovely  hill-tops  ringing  with  the  giddy  din  and 
maze,  or  secret  earnest  whispers  of  love-sick  swains — of 
pristine  simplicity  and  virtue — wholesome  and  well-earned 
contentment  and  abundance — and  again,  of  wealth  and 
refinements — of  idleness  and  luxury — of  vice  and  its  de- 
formities—of fire  and  sword,  and  the  vengeance  of  offended 
Heaven,  wreaked  in  retributive  destruction ! — and  peace, 
and  quiet,  and  loveliness,  and  silence,  dwelling  again,  over 
and  through  these  scenes,  and  blending  them  into  futurity. 

Many  such  scenes  there  are,  and  thousands,  on  the 
Missouri  shores.  My  canoe  has  been  stopped,  land  I  have 
clambered  up  their  grassy  and  flower-decked  sides;  and 
sighed  all  alone,  as  I  have  carefully  traced  and  fastened 
them  in  colors  on  my  canvass. 

This  voyage  in  my  little  canoe,  amid  the  thousand 
islands  and  grass-covered  bluffs  that  stud  the  shores  of  this 
mighty  river,  afforded  me  infinite  pleasure,  mingled  witli 
pains  and  privations  which  I  never  shall  wish  to  forget. 
Gliding  along  from  day  to  day,  and  tiring  our  eyes  on  the 
varying  landscapes  that  were  continually  opening  to  out 
view,  my  merry  voyagcura  were  continually  chaunting  their 
and  "  every  now  and  then,"  taking  up 


cheerful  boat  songs 


their 


unerring 


rifles   to  bring   down  the  stately  ellcs  or 


NORTH  AlVIERICAN  INDIANS. 


409 


antelopes,  whioh  were  often  gazing  at  us  from  the  shores 
of  the  river. 

But  a  few  miles  from  "  Floyd's  Bluff"  we  landed  our 
canoe,  and  spent  a  day  in  the  vicinity  of  the  "  Blmk  Bird' a 
OraveP  This  is  a  celebrated  point  on  the  Missouri,  and  a 
sort  of  telegraphic  place,  which  all  the  travellers  in  these 
realms,  both  white  and  red,  are  in  the  habit  of  visiting : 
the  one  to  pay  respect  to  the  bones  of  one  of  their  dis- 
tinguished leaders ;  and  the  others,  to  indulge  their  eyes 
on  the  lovely  landscape  that  spreads  out  to  an  almost 
illimitable  extent  in  every  direction  about  it.  This  ele- 
vated bluff,  which  may  be  distinguished  for  several  leagues 
in  distance,  has  received  the  name  of  the  '*  Black  Bird's 
Grave,"  from  the  fact,  that  a  famous  chief  of  the  0-ma- 
haws,  by  the  name  of  the  Black  Bird,  was  buried  on  its 
top,  at  his  own  peculiar  request ;  over  whose  grave  a  cedar 
post  was  erected  by  his  tribe  some  thirty  years  ago,  which 
is  still  standing.  The  0-ma-haw  village  was  about  sixty 
miles  above  this  place ;  and  this  very  noted  chief,  who  had 
been  on  a  visit  to  Washington  City,  in  company  with  the 
Indian  agent,  died  of  the  small-pox,  near  this  spot,  on  his 
return  home.  And,  whilst  dying,  enjoined  on  his  warriors 
who  were  about  him,  this  singular  request,  which  was 
literally  complied  with.  He  requested  them  to  take  his 
body  down  the  river  to  this  his  favorite  haunt,  and  on 
the  pinnacle  of  this  towering  bluff,  to  bury  him  on  the 
back  of  his  favorite  war-horse,  which  was  to  be  buried 
alive,  under  him,  from  whence  he  could  see,  as  he  said, 
"  the  Frenchmen  passing  up  and  down  the  river  in  their 
boats."  He  owned,  amongst  many  horses,  a  noble  white 
steed  that  was  led  to  the  top  of  the  grass-covered  hill ;  and, 
with  great  pomp  and  ceremony,  in  presence  of  the  whole 
nation,  and  several  of  the  Fur  Traders  and  the  Indian 
agent,  he  was  placed  astride  of  his  horse's  back,  with  his 
bow  in  his  hand,  and  his  shield  and  quiver  slung — with  his 
pipe  and  his  medicine-hag — with  his  supply  of  dried  meat, 
and  his  tobacco-pouch  replenished  to  last  him  through  his 


I.  > 


\    ''^lA^ifjfcii 


:ii 


410 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


journey  to  the  "  beautiful  hunting  grounds  of  the  shades 
of  his  flithers" — with  his  flint  and  steel,  and  his  tinder,  to 
light  his  pipe  by  the  way.  The  scalps  that  he  had  taken 
from  his  enemies'  heads,  could  be  trophies  for  nobody  else, 
and  were  hung  to  the  bridle  of  his  horse — he  was  in  full 
dress  and  fully  equipped  ;  and  on  his  head  waved,  to  the 
last  moment,  his  beautiful  head-dress  of  the  war-eagle's 
plumes.  In  this  plight,  and  the  last  funeral  honors  having 
been  performed  by  the  medicine-men,  every  warrior  of  his 
band  painted  the  palm  and  fingers  of  his  right  hand  with 
vermilion  ;  which  wab  stamped,  and  perfectly  impressed 
on  the  milk-white  sides  of  his  devoted  horse. 

This  all  done,  turfs  were  brought  and  placed  around  the 
feet  and  legs  of  the  horse,  and  gradually  laid  up  to  its 
sides  ;  and  at  last,  over  ^he  back  and  head  of  the  unsuspec- 
ting animal,  and  last  of  all,  over  the  head  and  even  the 
eagle  plumes  of  its  valiant  rider,  where  altogether  have 
smouldered  and  remained  undisturbed  to  the  present  day. 

This  mound  which  is  covered  with  a  green  turf,  and 
spotted  with  wild  flowers,  with  its  cedar  post  in  its  centre, 
can  easily  be  seen  at  the  distance  of  fifteen  miles,  by  the 
voyageur,  and  forms  for  him  a  familiar  and  useful  land- 
mark. ' 

"Whilst  visiting  this  mound  in  company  with  Major 
Sanford,  on  our  way  up  the  river,  I  discovered  in  a  hole 
made  in  the  mound,  by  a  *'  ground  hog"  or  other  animal, 
the  skull  of  the  horse ;  and  by  a  little  pains,  also  came  at 
the  skull  of  the  chief,  which  I  carried  to  the  riverside,  and 
secreted  till  my  return  n  my  canoe,  when  I  took  it  in,  and 
brought  with  me  to  this  place,  where  I  now  have  it,  with 
others  which  I  have  collected  on  my  route. 

There  have  been  some  very  surprising  tales  told  of  this 
man,  which  will  render  him  famous  in  history,  whether 
they  be  truth  or  matters  of  fiction.  Of  the  many,  one  of 
the  most  current  is,  that  he  gained  his  celebrity  and 
authority  by  the  most  diabolical  series  of  munhirs  in  his 
own  tribe ;  by  administering  arsenic  (with  which  he  had 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


41i 


■been  supplied  by  the  Fur  Traders)  to  such  of  his  enemies 
as  he  wished  to  get  rid  of — and  even  to  others  in  his  tribe 
whom  he  was  willing  to  sacrifice,  merely  to  establish  his 
superhuman  powers,  and  the  most  servile  dread  of  the 
tribe,  from  the  certainty  with  which  his  victims  fell  around 
him,  precisely  at  the  times  he  saw  fit  to  predict  their  death  1 
It  has  been  said  that  he  administered  this  potent  drug,  and 
to  them  unknown  medicine,  to  many  of  his  friends  as  well 
as  to  foes;  and  by  such  an  inhuman  and  unparalleled 
depravity,  succeeded  in  exercising  the  most  despotic  and 
absolute  authority  in  his  tribe,  until  the  time  of  his  death ! 

This  story  may  be  true,  and  it  may  not.  I  cannot 
contradict  it;  and  I  am  sure  the  world  will  forgive  me, 
if  I  say,  I  cannot  believe  it.  If  it  be  true,  two  things  are 
also  true ;  the  one,  not  much  to  the  credit  of  the  Indian 
character ;  and  the  other,  to  the  everlasting  infamy  of  the 
Fur  Traders.  If  it  be  true,  it  furnishes  an  instance  of 
Indian  depravity  that  I  never  have  elsewhere  heard  of  in 
my  travels ;  and  carries  the  most  conclusive  proof  of  the 
incredible  enormity  of  white  man's  dealings  in  this  country ; 
who,  for  some  sinister  purpose  must  have  introduced  the 
poisonous  drug  into  the  country,  and  taught  the  poor  chief 
how  to  use  it ;  whilst  they  were  silent  accessories  to  the 
murders  he  was  committing.  This  story  is  said  to  have 
been  told  by  the  Fur  Traders ;  and  although  I  have  not 
always  the  highest  confidence  in  their  justice  to  the  Indian, 
yet,  I  cannot  for  the  honor  of  my  own  species,  believe 
them  to  be  so  depraved  and  so  wicked,  nor  so  weak,  as  to 
reveal  such  iniquities  of  this  chief,  if  they  were  true,  which 
must  directly  implicate  themselves  as  accessories  to  his 
most  wilful  and  unprovoked  murders. 

Such  he  has  been  heralded,  however,  to  future  ages,  as  a 
murderer — like  hundreds  and  thousands  of  other.-^,  as 
"  horse  thieves" — as  "  drunkards" — as  *'  rogues  of  the  first 
order,"  &c.,  &c., — by  the  historian  who  catches  but  a 
glaring  story  (and  perhaps  fabrication)  of  their  lives,  and 
has  no  time  nor  disposition   to  enquire  into  and  record 


412 


LETTERS  AND  NO'j.ES  ON  THE 


their  long  and  brilliant  list  of  virtues,  which  must  be  lost 
in  the  shade  of  infamy,  for  want  of  an  historian. 

I  have  learned  much  of  this  noble  chieftain,  and  at  a 
proper  time  shall  recount  the  modes  of  his  civil  and 
military  life — how  he  exposed  his  life,  and  shed  his  blood 
in  rescuing  the  victims  to  horrid  torture,  and  abolished 
that  savage  custom  in  his  tribe — how  he  led  on  and  headed 
his  brave  warriors,  against  the  Sacs  and  Foxes  ;  and  saved 
the  butchery  of  his  women  and  children — how  he  received 
the  Indian  agent,  and  entertained  him  in  his  hospitable 
Avrigwara,  in  his  village — and  how  he  conducted  and 
acquitted  himself  on  his  embassy  to  the  civilized  world. 

So  much  I  will  take  pains  to  say,  of  a  man  whom  I 
never  saw,  because  other  historians  have  taken  equal  pains 
just  to  mention  his  name,  and  a  solitary  (and  doubtful j  act 
of  his  life,  as  they  have  said  of  hundreds  of  others,  for  the 
purpose  of  consigning  him  to  infamy. 

How  much  more  kind  would  it  have  been  fo.,-  the 
historian,  who  never  saw  him,  to  have  enumerated  with 
this,  other  characteristic  actions  oi'  his  life  (for  the  verdict 
of  th  ■  world) ;  or  to  have  allowed,  in  charity,  his  bones 
and  his  n.ime  to  have  slept  in  silence,  instead  of  calling 
them  up  from  the  grave,  to  thrust  a  dagger  through  them, 
and  throw  them  back  again. 

Book-making  now-a-days,  is  done  for  money-making; 
and  he  who  takes  the  Indian  for  his  theme,  and  cannot  go 
and  sec  him,  finds  a  poverty  in  his  matter  that  naturally 
begets  error,  by  grasping  at  every  little  tale  that  is  brought 
or  fabricated  by  their  enemies.  Such  books  are  standards, 
because  they  are  made  for  white  man's  reading  only ;  and 
licrald  the  character  of  a  people  who  never  can  disprove 
them.  They  answer  the  purpose  for  which  they  are 
written ;  and  the  poor  Indian  who  has  no  redress,  stands 
stigmatized  and  branded,  as  a  murderous  wretch  and 
boast. 

If  the  system  of  book-making  and  newspaper  printing 
were  in  operation  in  the  Indian  country  awhile,  to  herald 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


413 


the  iniquities  and  liorriblo  barbarities  of  white  men  in  these 
Western  regions,  which  now  are  sure  to  be  overlooked ;  I 
venture  to  say,  tliat  chapters  would  soon  be  printed,  which 
would  sicken  the  reader  to  his  heart,  and  set  up  the  Indian, 
a  fair  and  tolerable  num. 

There  is  no  more  b.-autifil  prairie  country  in  the  world, 
than  that  which  is  to  be  seen  in  this  vicinity.  In  looking 
back  from  this  bluff,  towards  the  West,  there  is,  to  an 
aln.ost  boundless  extent,  one  of  the  most  beautiful  scenes 
imaginable.  The  surface  of  the  country  is  gracefully  and 
slightly  undulating,  like  the  swells  of  the  retiring  ocean 
after  a  heavy  storm.  And  everywhere  covered  with  a 
beautiful  green  tuif,  and  with  occasional  patches  and 
clusters  of  trees.  The  soil  in  this  region  is  also  rich,  and 
capable  of  making  one  of  the  most  beautiful  and  pro- 
ductive countries  in  the  world. 

Ba'tiste  and  Bogard  used  their  rifles  to  some  effect 
during  the  day  that  we  loitered  here,  and  also  gathered 
great  quantities  of  delicious  grapes.  From  this  lovely 
spot  we  embarked  the  next  morning,  and  glided  through 
constantly  changing  scenes  of  beauty,  until  we  landed  our 
canoe  at  the  base  of  a  beautiful  series  of  grass-covered 
bluffs,  which,  like  thousands  and  thousands  of  others  on 
the  banks  of  this  river,  are  designated  by  no  name,  that  I 
know  of. 

My  canoe  was  landed  at  noon,  at  the  base  of  these 
picturesque  hills — and  there  rested  till  the  next  morning. 
As  soon  as  we  were  ashore,  I  scrambled  to  their  summits, 
took  my  easel,  and  canvass  and  brushes,  to  the  top  of  the 
bluff*  and  painted  two  views  from  the  same  spot ;  the  one 
looking  up,  and  the  other  down  the  river.  The  reader,  by 
imagining  th:;se  hills  to  bo  five  or  six  hundred  feet  high, 
and  every  foot  of  them,  as  far  as  they  can  be  discovered  iu 
distance,  covered  with  a  vivid  green  turf,  whilst  the  sun  is 
gilding  one  side,  and  throwing  a  cool  shadow  on  the 
other,  will  be  enabled  to  form  something  like  an  adequate 
idea  of  the  shores  of  the  Missouri.    From  this  enchanting 


^1 "         1  -  i» 


.1  >f.i'< 


414 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


spot  there  was  nothing  to  arrest  the  eye  from  ranging  over 
its  waters  for  the  distance  of  twenty  or  thirty  miles,  whore 
it  quietly  glides  between  its  barriers,  formed  of  thousands 
of  green  and  gracefully  sloping  hills,  with  its  rich  and  allu- 
vial meadows,  and  woodlands — and  its  hundred  islands 
covered  with  stately  cotton-wood.  The  rains  are  wearing 
down  the  clay-bluffs,  cutting  gullies  or  sluices  behind 
them,  and  leaving  them  at  last  to  stand  out  in  relief,  in 
these  rounded  and  graceful  forms,  until  in  time  they  get 
seeded  over,  and  nourish  a  growth  of  green  grass  on  their 
sides,  which  forms  a  turf,  and  protects  their  surface,  pre- 
serving them  for  centuries,  in  the  forms  that  are  here  seen. 
The  tops  of  the  highest  of  these  bluffs  <riso  nearly  up  to 
the  summit  level  of  the  prairies,  which  is  found  as  soon  as 
one  travels  a  mile  or  so  from  the  river,  amongst  these 
picturesque  groups,  and  comes  out  at  their  top;  from 
whence  the  country  goes  off  to  the  East  and  the  West, 
with  an  almost  perfectly  level  surface. 

These  two  views  were  taken  about  thirty  miles  above 
the  village  of  the  Punchas,  and  five  miles  above  "  the 
Tower ;"  the  name  given  by  the  travellers  through  the 
country,  to  a  high  and  remarkable  clay  bluff,  rising  to  the 
height  of  some  hundreds  of  foot  from  the  water,  and  having 
in  distance,  the  castellated  appearance  of  a  fortification. 

My  canoe  was  not  unmoored  from  the  shores  of  this 
lovely  spot  for  two  days,  except  for  the  purpose  of  crossint^ 
the  river;  which  I  several  times  did,  to  ascend  and 
examine  the  hills  on  the  opposite  side.  I  had  Ba'tiste  and 
Bogard  with  me  on  the  tops  of  tliese  green-carpeted  bluffs, 
and  tried  in  vain  to  make  them  see  the  beauty  of  scenes 
that  were  about  us.  They  dropped  asleep,  and  I  strolled 
and  contemplated  alone ;  clambering  "  up  one  hiir  and 
sliding  or  running  ^^  down  another  "  with  no  other  living 
being  in  sight,  save  now  and  then  a  bristling  wolf,  which, 
from  my  approach,  was  reluctantly  retreating  from  his 
shady  lair — or  sneaking  behind  me  and  smelling  on  my 
track. 


NORTH  AMERICAN   INDIAN'S. 


415 


Whilst  strolling  about  on  the  we''*  J  bank  of  the  river 
at  this  place,  I  found  the  ancient  oite  of  an  Indian  village, 
which,  from  the  character  of  the  marks,  I  am  sure  was  once 
the  residence  of  the  Mandans.  I  said  in  a  former  Letter, 
when  speaking  of  the  Mandans.  that  within  the  recollection 
of  some  of  their  oldest  men,  they  lived  some  sixty  or 
eighty  miles  down  the  river  from  the  place  of  their  present 
residence ;  and  that  they  then  lived  in  nine  villages.  On 
my  way  down,  I  became  fully  convinced  of  the  fact; 
having  landed  my  canoe,  and  examined  the  ground  where 
the  foundation  of  every  wigwam  can  yet  be  distinctly 
seen.  At  that  time,  they  must  have  been  much  more 
numerous  than  at  present,  from  the  many  marks  they  have 
left,  as  well  as  from  their  own  representations. 

The  Mandans  have  a  peculiar  way  of  building  their  wig- 
wams, by  digging  down  a  couple  of  feet  in  the  earth,  and 
there  fixing  the  ends  of  the  poles  which  form  the  walls  of 
their  houses.  There  are  other  marks,  such  as  their  caches 
— and  also  their  mode  of  depositing  their  dead  on  scaffolds 
— and  of  preserving  the  skulls  in  circles  on  the  prairies ; 
which  peculiar  customs  I  have  before  described,  and  most 
of  which  are  distinctly  to  be  Recognized  in  each  of  these 
places,  as  well  as  in  several  similar  remains  which  I  have 
met  with  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  between  here  and  the 
Mandans ;  which  fully  convince  me,  that  they  have 
formerly  occupied  the  lower  parts  of  the  Missouri,  and 
have  gradually  made  their  way  quite  through  the  heart  of 
the  great  Sioux  country ;  and  having  been  well  fortified 
in  all  their  locations,  as  in  their  present  one,  by  a  regular 
stockade  and  ditch,  they  have  been  able  successfully  to 
resist  the  continual  assaults  of  the  Sioux,  that  numerous 
tribe,  who  have  been,  and  still  are,  endeavoring  to  effect 
their  entire  destruction.  I  have  examined,  at  least  fifteen 
or  twenty  of  their  ancient  locations  on  the  banks  of  this 
river,  and  can  easily  discover  the  regular  differences  in  the 
ages  of  these  antiquities;  and  around  them  all  I  have 
found  numerous  bits  of  their  broken  pottery,  corresponding 


f:^: 


I 


416 


LETTERS  AND  XOTKS  ON  THE 


with  that  which  they  are  now  manufacturing  in  great 
abundance  ;  and  which  is  certainly  made  by  no  other  tribe 
in  thcao  regions.  These  evidences,  and  others  which  I 
ehall  not  take  the  time  to  mention  in  this  place,  go  a  great 
way  in  my  mind  towards  strengthening  the  possibility  of 
their  having  moved  from  the  Ohio  river,  and  of  their  bein"- 
a  remnant  of  the  followers  of  Madoc.  I  have  much  further 
to  trace  them  yet,  however,  and  shall  certainly  have  more 
to  say  on  so  interesting  a  subject  in  future. 

Almost  every  mile  I  have  advanced  on  the  banks  of 
this  river,  I  have  met  evidences  and  marks  of  Indians  in 
some  form  or  other ;  and  they  have  generally  been  those 
of  the  Sioux,  who  occupy  and  own  the  greater  part  of  this 
immense  region  of  country.  In  the  latter  part  of  my 
voyage,  however,  and  of  which  I  have  been  speaking  in 
the  former  part  of  this  Letter,  I  met  the  ancient  sites  of 
the  0-raa-haw  and  Ot-to  towns,  which  are  easily  detected 
when  they  are  met.  The  usual  mode  of  the  0-ma-haws,  of 
depositing  their  dead  is  in  the  crotches  and  on  tlie  branches 
of  trees,  enveloped  in  skins,  and  never  without  a  wooden 
dish  hanging  by  the  head  of  the  corpse  ;  probably  for  the 
purpose  of  enabling  it  to  dip  up  water  to  quench  its  thirst 
on  the  long  and  tedious  journey,  which  they  generally 
expect  to  enter  on  after  death.  These  corpses  are  so 
frequent  along  the  banks  of  the  river,  that  in  some  places 
a  dozen  or  more  of  them  may  be  seen  at  one  view. 

Traces  of  the  customs  of  the  Sioux,  are  found  in  endless 
numbers  on  the  river ;  and  in  fact,  through  every  part  of 
this  country.  The  wigwams  of  these  people  are  only 
moveable  tents,  and  leave  but  a  temporary  mark  to  be 
discovered.  Their  burials,  however,  are  peculiar  and 
lasting  remains,  which  can  be  long  detected.  They  often 
deposit  their  dead  on  trees,  and  on  scaffolds;  but  more 
generally  bury  in  the  tops  of  bluffs,  or  near  their  villages ; 
when  they  often  split  out  staves  and  drive  in  the  ground 
around  the  grave  to  protect  it  from  the  trespass  of  dogs  or 
wild  animals. 


ndless 
art  of 
only 
to  bo 
and 
T  often 
moro 
lages; 
round 
og3  or 


NORTH   AMERICAN   INDIANS. 


417 


The  ^fiviuLin  mode  of  resting  their  dead  upon  scaffolds 
is  not  so  peculiar  to  them  as  positively  to  distinguish 
them  from  Sioux,  who  sometimes  bury  in  the  same  way ; 
but  the  excavations  for  their  earth-covered  wigwams, 
which  I  have  said  are  two  feet  deep  in  the  ground  with 
the  ends  of  the  decayed  timbers  remaining  in  them,  are 
peculiar  and  conclusive  evidence  of  their  being  of  Mandan 
construction ;  and  the  custom  of  leaving  the  skulls 
bleached  upon  the  ground  va.  circles,  as  I  have  formerly 
described,  instead  of  burying  them  as  the  other  tribes  do, 
forms  also  a  strong  evidence  of  the  fact  that  they  are 
Mandan  remains. 

In  most  of  these  sites  of  their  ancient  towns,  however,  I 
have  been  unable  to  find  about  their  burial  places,  these 
characteristic  deposits  of  the  skulls;  from  which  I  con- 
clude, that  whenever  they  deliberately  moved  to  a  different 
region,  they  buried  the  skulls  out  of  respect  to  the  dead. 
I  found,  just  i.'ick  of  one  of  these  sites  of  their  ancient 
towns,  however,  and  at  least  five  hundred  miles  below 
where  they  now  live,  the  same  arrangement  of  skulls  as 
that  I  before  described.  They  had  laid  so  long,  how- 
ever, exposed  to  the  weather,  that  they  were  reduced 
almost  to  a  powder,  except  the  teeth,  which  mostly  seemed 
polished  and  sound  as  ever.  It  seems  that  no  human 
hands  had  dared  to  meddle  with  the  dead  ;  and  that  even 
their  enemies  had  respected  them ;  for  every  one,  and  there 
were  at  least  two  hundred  in  one  circle,  had  mouldered  to 
chalk,  in  its  exact  relative  position,  as  they  had  been 
placed  in  a  circle.  In  this  case,  I  am  of  opinion  that  the 
village  was  besieged  by  the  Sioux,  and  entirely  destroyed, 
or  that  the  Mandans  were  driven  off  without  the  power  to 
stop  and  bury  the  bones  of  their  dead. 

Belle  Vue  is  a  lovely  scene  on  the  West  bank  of  the 
river,  about  nine  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Platte,  und 
is  the  agency  of  Major  Dougherty,  one  of  the  oldest  and 
most  effective  agents  on  our  frontiers.  This  spot  is,  as  I 
said,  lovely  in  itself;  but  doubly  so  to  the  eye  of  the 

27 


If'^^ 


mm 


418 


LBTTER3  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


woather-boaien  voyageur  from  the  sources  of  tlio  Missouri, 
vho  steers  liiri  canoo  in,  to  tho  shore,  as  I  did,  and  soon 
finds  himself  a  welcome  gncst  at  tho  comfortable  board  of 
the  Major,  with  a  table  again  to  eat  from — and  that  (not 
*  groaning  ,"  but)  standing  under  tho  comfortable  weight  of 
meat  and  vegetable  luxurie;^,  products  of  tho  labor  d 
cultivating  man.  It  was  a  pleasure  ti)  see  again,  in  this 
great  wilderness,  a  civilized  habitation ;  and  still  more 
pleasant  to  find  it  surrounded  with  corn-fields,  and 
potatoes,  with  numerous  fruit-treos,  bending  under  the 
weight  of  their  fruit — with  pigs  and  poultry,  and  kino; 
nn(1  what  was  best  of  all,  to  see  tho  kind  and  benevolent 
face,  that  never  looked  anything  but  welcome  to  tho  half- 
starved  guests,  who  throw  themselves  upon  him  from  the 
North,  from  the  South,  the  East,  or  the  West. 

At  this  place  I  was  in  the  country  of  the  Pawnees,  a 
numerous  tribe,  whose  villages  are  on  the  Platte  river,  and 
of  whom  I  shall  say  more  anon. '  Major  Dougherty  has 
been  for  many  years  the  agent  for  this  hostile  tribe ;  and 
by  his  familiar  knowledge  of  the  Indian  character,  and  his 
strict  honesty  and  integrity,  he  has  been  able  to  effect  a 
friendly  intercourse  with  them,  and  also  to  attract  the 
applause  and  highest  confidence  of  the  world,  as  well  as 
of  the  authorities  who  sent  him  there. 

An  hundred  miles  above  this,  I  passed  a  curious  feature, 
called  the  "  Square  Hills."  I  landed  my  canoe,  and  went 
ashore,  and  to  their  tops,  to  examine  them.  Though  they 
appeared  to  be  near  the  river,  I  found  it  half  a  day's 
journey  to  travel  to  and  from  them ;  they  being  several 
rulos  from  the  river.  On  ascending  them  I  found  them  to 
be  two  or  three  hundred  feet  high,  and  rising  on  their 
sides  at  an  angle  of  forty-fivo  degrees ;  and  on  their  tops, 
in  some  places,  for  half  a  mile  in  length,  perfectly  level, 
with  a  green  turf,  and  corresponding  exactly  with  tho 
tabular  hills  before  spoken  of  above  the  Maudans.  I 
therein  said,  that  I  should  visit  these  hills  on  my  way 
down  the  river ;  and  I  am  fully   convinced,  from  close 


J; 


"=11 


eature, 
went 
1  they 
day's 
several 
lem  to 
their 
tops, 
y  level, 
th   the 
atis.    I 
^y  way 
close 


NORTH  AMBRICAN   INDIANS. 


419 


examination,  that  they  are  a  part  of  the  same  original 
Bupersiratum,  which  I  therein  described,  though  sovcp  or 
eight  hundred  miles  sepiirated  from  thetn.  They  agree 
exactly  in  character,  and  also  in  the  materials  of  which 
they  are  composed  ;  and  I  believe,  that  some  unaccountable 
gorge  of  waters  has  swept  away  the  intervening  earth, 
leaving  these  solitary  and  isolated,  though  incontrovertible 
evidences,  that  the  summit  level  of  all  this  great  valley  has 
at  one  time  been  where  the  level  surface  of  these  hills  now 
is,  two  or  three  hundred  feet  above  what  is  now  generally 
denominated  the  summit  level. 

The  mouth  of  the  Platte  is  a  beautiful  scene,  and  no 
doubt  will  be  the  site  of  a  large  and  flourishing  town,  soon 
after  Indian  titles  shall  have  been  extinguished  to  the 
lands  in  these  regions,  which  will  be  done  within  a  very 
few  years.  The  Platte  is  a  long  and  powerful  stream, 
pouring  \r  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  and  joining  with  the 
Missouri  at  this  place. 

In  this  voyage,  as  in  all  others  that  I  have  performed,  I 
kept  my  journal,  but  I  have  not  room,  it  will  be  seen,  to 
insert  more  than  an  occasional  extract  from  it  for  my 
present  purpose.  In  this  voyage,  Ba'tiste  and  Bogard 
were  my  constant  companions ;  and  we  all  had  our  rifles, 
and  used  them  often.  We  often  went  ashore  amongst  the 
herds  of  buffaloes,  and  were  obliged  to  do  so  for  our  daily 
food.  We  lived  tbe  whole  way  on  buffaloes'  flesh  and 
venison — we  had  no  bread ;  but  laid  in  a  good  stock  of 
coffee  and  sugar.  These,  however,  from  an  unforeseen 
accident  availed  us  but  little;  as  on  the  second  or  third 
day  of  our  voyage,  after  we  had  taken  our  coffee  on  the 
shore,  and  Ba'tiste  and  Bogard  had  gone  in  pursuit  of  a 
herd  of  buffaloes,  I  took  it  in  my  head  to  have  an  extra 
very  fine  dish  of  coffee  to  myself,  as  the  fire  was  fine.  For 
this  purpose,  I  added  more  coffee-grounds  to  the  pot,  and 
placed  it  on  the  fire,  which  I  sat  watching,  when  I  saw  a 
fine  buffalo  cow  wending  her  way  leisurely  over  the  hills, 
but  a  little  distance  from  mc,  for  whom  I  started  at  once, 


,»?i..'-M. 


WHi 


f  111 1 


li    « 


420 


LETTERS  AXD   NO'tES  ON  THE 


■with  my  rifle  trailed  in  my  hand ;  and  after  creeping,  and 
running,  and  heading,  and  all  that,  for  half  an  hour,  with- 
out getting  a  shot  at  her ;  I  came  back  to  the  encampment 
where  I  found  my  two  men  with  meat  enough,  but  in  the 
most  uncontrollable  rage,  for  my  coffee  had  all  boiled  out 
and  the  coffee-pot  was  melted  to  pieces  I 

This  was  truly  a  deplorable  accident,  and  one  that  could 
in  no  effectual  way  be  remedied.  We  afterwards  botched 
up  a  mess  or  two  of  it  in  our  frying-pan,  but  to  little 
purpose,  and  then  abandoned  it  to  Bogard  alone,  who 
thankfully  received  the  dry  coffee-grounds  and  sugar,  at 
his  meals,  which  he  soon  entirely  demolished. 

We  met  immense  numbers  of  buffaloes  in  the  early  part 
of  our  voyage  and  used  to  land  our  canoe  almost  every 
hour  in  the  day ;  and  oftentimes  all  together  approach  the 
unsuspecting  herds,  through  some  deep  and  hidden  ravine 
within  a  few  rods  of  theni,  and  at  the  word,  *'  pull  trigger" 
each  of  us  bring  down  our  victim. 

In  one  instance,  near  the  mouth  of  White  River,  wo 
met  the  most  immense  herd  crossing  the  Missouri  River — 
and  from  an  imprudence  got  our  boat  into  imminent 
danger  amongst  them,  from  which  we  were  highly  de- 
lighted to  make  our  escape.  It  was  in  the  midst  of  the 
"  running  season,"  and  we  had  heard  the  "  roaring"  (as  it 
is  called)  of  the  herd,  when  we  were  several  miles  from 
them.  When  we  came  in  sight,  we  were  actually  terrified 
at  the  immense  numbers  that  were  streaming  down  tlie 
green  hills  on  one  side  of  the  river,  and  galloping  up  and 
over  the  bluffs  on  the  other.  The  river  was  filled,  and  in 
jiarts  blackened,  with  their  heads  and  horns,  as  they  were 
swimming  about,  following  up  their  objects,  and  making 
desperate  battle  wliilst  they  were  swimming. 

I  deemed  it  imprudent  for  our  canoe  to  be  dodging 
amongst  them,  ami  ran  it  ashore  for  a  few  hours,  where  wo 
laid,  waiting  for  the  opportunity  of  seeing  the  river  clear ; 
but  we  waited  in  vain.  Tlieir  numbcr.-s,  however,  got 
somewhat   diminished   at   last,   and   wo   jtusln^d   od",    and 


NOKTII   AMERICAN   INDIANS. 


421 


successfully  made  our  way  amongst  them.  From  the 
immense  numbers  that  had  passed  the  river  at  that  place, 
they  had  torn  down  the  prairie  bank  of  fifteen  feet  in 
height,  so  as  to  form  a  sort  of  road  or  landing-place, 
where  they  all  in  succession  clambered  up.  Many  in  their 
turmoil  had  been  wafted  below  this  landing,  and  unable  to 
regain  it  against  the  swiftness  of  the  c"^rent,  had  fastened 
themselves  along  in  crowds,  hugging  close  to  the  high 
bank  under  which  they  were  standing.  As  we  were 
drifting  by  these,  and  supposing  ourselves  out  of  danger,  I 
drew  up  my  rifle  and  shot  one  of  them  in  the  head,  which 
tumbled  into  the  water,  and  brought  with  him  a  hundred 
others,  which  plunged  in,  and  in  a  moment  were  swimming 
about  our  canoe,  and  placing  it  in  great  danger.  No 
attack  was  made  upon  us,  and  in  the  confusion  the  poor 
beasts  knew  not,  perhaps,  the  enemy  that  was  amongst 
them;  but  we  were  liable  to  be  sunk  by  them,  as  they 
were  furiously  hooking  and  climbing  on  to  each  other.  I 
rose  in  my  canoe,  and  by  my  gestures  and  hallooing,  kept 
them  from  coming  in  contact  with  us,  until  we  were  out  of 
their  reach. 

This  was  one  of  the  instances  that  I  formerly  spoke  of, 
.  where  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  these  animals 
congregate  in  the  running  season,  and  move  about  from 
East  and  West,  or  wherever  accident  or  circumstances 
may  lead  them.  In  this  grand  crusade,  no  one  can  know 
the  numbers  that  may  have  made  the  ford  within  a  few 
days;  nor  in  their  blinded  fury  in  such  scenes,  would 
feeble  man  be  much  respected. 

During  the  remainder  of  that  day  we  paddled  onward, 
and  passed  many  of  their  carcasses  floating  on  the  current, 
or  lodged  on  the  heads  of  islands  and  sand-bars.  And,  in 
the  vicinity  of,  and  not  far  below  the  grand  turmoil,  we 
passed  several  that  were  mired  in  the  quicksand  near  the 
shores ;  some  were  standing  fast  and  half  iminersjd ; 
whilst  others  were  nearly  out  of  sight,  and  gasping  for  the 
last  breath ;  others  were  standiug  with  all  legs  fast,  and 


M    •; 


r 


t 


|w»MiaiHPii°— M 


if 


tM'- 


422 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES. 


one  half  of  tlieir  bodies  above  the  water,  and  their  heads 
suuk  under  it,  where  they  had  evidently  remained  several 
days ;  and  flocks  of  ravens  and  crows  were  covering  their 
backs  and  picking  the  flesh  from  their  dead  bodies. 

So  much  of  the  Upper  Missouri  and  its  modes,  at 
present;  though  I  have  much  more  in  store  for  some 
future  occasion. 

Fort  Leavenworth,  which  is  on  the  Lower  Missouri 
being  below  the  mouth  of  the  Platte,  is  the  nucleus  cf 
another  neighborhood  of  Indians,  amongst  whom  I  um  to 
commence  my  labors,  and  of  whom  I  shall  soon  be  enabled 
to  give  some  account.    So,  for  the  present,  Adieu. 


BCrrALO    nUNTINO. 


%  uM 


LETTER  No.  XXXIII. 
FORT  LEAVENWORTH,  LOWER  MISSOURI. 

I  MENTIONED  in  a  former  epistle,  that  this  is  the  extreme 
outpost  on  the  Western  Frontier,  and  built,  like  several 
others,  in  the  heart  of  the  Indian  country.  There  is  no 
finer  tract  of  lands  in  North  America,  or,  perhaps,  in  the 
world,  than  that  vast  space  of  prairie  country,  which  lies 
in  the  vicinity  of  this  post,  embracing  it  on  all  sides.  This 
garrison,  like  many  others  on  the  frontiers,  is  avowedly 
placed  here  for  the  purpose  of  protecting  our  frontier 
inhabitants  from  the  incursions  of  Indians ;  and  also  for 
the  purpose  of  preserving  the  peace  amongst  the  dlllbreut 
hostile  tribes,  who  seem  continually  to  wage,  and  glory  in, 

(423) 


iiliki: 


i(    I 


1 1 


424 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


their  deadly  wars.  Hjw  far  these  feeble  garrisons,  which 
are  generally  but  half  manned,  have  been,  or  will  be,  able 
to  intimidate  and  control  the  warlike  ardour  of  these  rest- 
less and  revengeful  spirits ;  or  how  far  they  will  be  able  in 
desperate  necessity,  to  proteet  the  lives  and  property  of 
the  honest  pioneer,  is  yet  to  be  tested. 

They  have  doubtless  been  designed  with  the  best  views 
to  effect  the  most  humane  objects,  though  I  yory  much 
doubt  the  benefits  that  are  anticipated  to  flow  from  them 
unless  a  more  efficient  number  of  men  are  stationed  in 
them  than  I  have  generally  found;  enough  to  promise 
protection  to  the  Indian,  and  then  to  ensure  it ;  instead  of 
promising,  and  leaving  them  to  seek  it  in  their  own  way 
at  last,  and  when  they  are  least  prepared  to  do  it. 

When  I  speak  of  this  post  as  being  on  the  Lower 
Missouri^  I  do  not  wish  to  convey  the  idea  that  I  am  down 
near  the  sea-coast,  at  the  mouth  of  the  river,  or  near  it ;  I 
only  mean  that  I  am  on  the  lower  part  of  the  Missouri,  yet 
six  hundred  miles  above  its  junction  with  the  Mississippi, 
and  near  two  thousands  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  into 
which  the  Mississippi  discharges  its  waters. 

In  this  delightful  Cantonment  there  are  generally 
stationed  six  or  seven  companies  of  infantry,  and  ten  or 
fifteen  officers ;  several  of  whom  have  their  wives  and 
daughters  v/ith  thera,  forming  a  very  pleasant  little  com- 
munity, who  are  almost  continually  together  in  social 
enjoyment  of  the  peculiar  amusements  and  pleasures  of 
this  wild  country.  Of  these  pastimes  they  have  many, 
such  as  riding  on  horseback  or  in  carriages  over  the 
beautiful  green  fields  of  the  prairies,  picking  strawberries 
and  wild  plums — deer  chasing — grouse  shooting — horse- 
and  other  amusements  of  the  garrison,  in  which 


racing, 


they  are  almost  constantly  engaged ;  enjoying  life  to  a 
very  high  degree. 

In  these  delightful  amusements,  and  with  these  pleasing 
companions,  I  have  been  for  a  while  participatiug  with 
great  satisfaction  ;  I  have  joined  several  times  in  the  deer- 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


425 


hunts,  and   more  frequeutly  in  grouse  shooting,  which 
constitutes  the  principal  amusement  of  this  place. 

This  delicious  bird,  which  is  found  in  great  abundance 
in  nearly  all  the  North  American  prairies,  and  most 
generally  called  the  Prairie  Hen,  is,  from  what  I  can 
learn,  very  much  like  the  English  grouse,  or  heath  hen, 
both  in  size,  in  color,  and  in  habits.  They  make  their 
appearance  in  these  parts  in  the  months  of  August  and 
September,  from  the  higher  latitudes,  where  they  go  in  the 
early  part  of  the  summer,  to  raise  their  broods.  This  is  the 
season  for  the  best  sport  amongst  them;  and  the  whole 
garrison,  in  fact  are  almost  subsisted  on  them  at  this  time, 
owing  to  the  facility  with  which  they  are  killed. 


:  1  ill,   : 


FRAIBIB  BEN 


I  was  lucky  enough  the  other  day,  with  one  of  the 
officers  of  the  garrison,  to  gain  the  enviable  distinction  of 
having  brought  in  together  seventy-five  of  these  fine  birds, 
which  we  killed  in  one  afternoon ;  and  although  I  am  quite 
ashamed  to  confess  the  manner  in  which  we  killed  the 
greater  part  of  them,  I  am  not  so  professed  a  sportsman  as 
to  induce  me  to  conceal  the  fact.  We  had  a  fine  pointer, 
and  had  legitimately  followed  the  sportsman's  style  for  a 
part  of  tho  afternoon ;  but  seeing  the  prairies  on  fire 
several  miles  ahead  of  us,  and  the  wind  driving  the  firo 


'j  A  'it  1 


:v  n 


426 


LKTTER3  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


gradually  towards  us,  wo  found  these  poor  birds  driven 
before  its  long  line,  which  seemed  to  extend  from  horizon 
to  horizon,  and  they  were  flying  in  swarms  or  flocks  that 
would  at  times  almost  fill  the  air.  They  generally  flew 
half  a  mile  or  so,  and  lit  down  again  in  the  grass,  where 
they  would  sit  until  the  fire  was  close  upon  them,  and  then 
they  would  rise  again.  We  observed  by  watching  their 
motions,  that  they  lit  in  great  numbers  in  every  solitary 
tree ;  and  we  placed  ourselves  near  each  of  these  trees  in 
turn,  and  shot  them  down  as  they  settled  in  them ;  some- 
times killing  five  or  six  at  a  shot,  by  getting  a  range 
upon  them. 

In  this  way  we  retreated  for  miles  before  the  flames,  in 
the  midst  of  the  flocks,  and  keeping  company  with  them 
where  they  were  carried  along  in  advance  of  the  fire,  in 
accumulating  numbers ;  many  of  which  had  been  driven 
along  for  many  miles.  We  murdered  the  poor  birds  in 
this  way,  until  we  had  as  many  as  we  could  well  carry, 
and  laid  our  course  back  to  the  Fort,  where  we  got  much 
credit  for  our  great  shooting,  and  where  we  were  mutually 
pledged  to  keep  the  secret. 

The  prairies  burning  form  some  of  the  most  beautiful 
scenes  that  are  to  bo  witnessed  in  this  country,  and  also 
some  of  the  most  sublime.  Every  acre  of  these  vast 
prairies  (being  covered  for  hundreds  and  hundreds  of 
miles,  with  a  crop  of  grass,  which  dies  and  dries  in  the 
fall)  burns  over  during  the  fall  or  early  in  the  spring, 
leaving  the  ground  of  a  black  doleful  color. 

There  are  many  modes  by  which  the  fire  is  communi- 
cated to  them,  both  by  white  men  and  by  Indians— ^ar 
accident ;  and  yet  many  more  where  it  is  voluntarily  done 
for  the  purpose  of  getting  a  fresh  crop  of  grass,  for  the 
grazing  of  their  horses,  and  also  for  easier  travelling 
during  the  next  summer,  when  there  will  be  no  old  grass 
to  lie  upon  the  prairies,  entangling  the  feet  of  man  and 
horse,  as  they  are  passing  over  them. 

Over  the  elevated  lands  and  prairie  bluffs,  where  the 


NORTH  AMERICAN   INDIANS. 


427 


grass  is  thin  and  short,  the  fire  slowly  creeps  with  a  feeble 
flame,  which  one  can  easily  step  over ;  where  the  wild  ani- 
mals often  rest  in  their  lairs  until  the  flames  almost  burn 
their  noses,  when  they  will  reluctantly  rise,  and  leap  over 
it,  and  trot  off  amongst  the  cinders,  where  the  fire  has  passed 
and  left  the  ground  as  black  as  jet.  These  scenes  at  night 
become  indescribably  beautifu^  when  their  flames  are  seen 
at  many  miles  distance  oc^  over  the  sides  and  t  ;  :  -' 
the  bluffs,  appearing  to  uo  spai-..-ag  and  brilliant  chai^o  of 
liquid  fire  (the  hills  being  lost  to  the  view),  hanging  sua 
pended  in  graceful  festoons  from  the  skies. 

But  there  is  yet  another  character  of  burning  prairies, 
that  requires  another  Letter,  and  a  different  pen  to  describe 
— the  war,  or  hell  of  fires !  where  the  grass  is  seven  or  eight 
feet  high,  as  is  often  the  case  for  many  miles  together,  on 
the  Missouri  bottoms ;  and  the  flames  are  driven  forward  by 
the  huricanes,  which  often  sweep  over  the  vast  prairies  of 
this  denuded  country.  There  are  many  of  these  meadows 
on  the  Missouri,  the  Platte,  and  the  Arkansas,  of  many 
miles  in  breadth,  which  are  perfectly  level,  with  a  waving 
grass, 


so 


high. 


that  we  are  obliged  to  stand  erect  in 
our  stirrups,  in  order  to  look  over  its  waving  tops  as  we  are 
riding  through  it.  The  fire  in  these,  before  such  a  wind, 
travels  at  an  immense  and  frightful  rate,  and  often  destroys, 
on  their  fleetest  horses,  parties  of  Indians,  who  are  so  un- 
lucky as  to  be  overtaken  by  it ;  not  that  it  travels  as  fast  as 
a  horse  at  full  speed,  but  that  the  high  grass  is  filled  with 
wild  pea-vines,  and  other  impediments,  which  render  it 
necessary  for  the  rider  to  guide  his  horse  in  the  zig-zag 
paths  of  the  deers  and  buflaloes,  retarding  his  progress, 
until  he  is  overtaken  by  tlie  dense  column  of  smoke  that 
is  swept  before  the  fire — alarming  the  horse,  which  stops 
and  stands  terrified  and  immutable,  till  the  burning  grass 
which  is  wafted  in  the  wind,  falls  about  him,  kindling  up 
ill  a  moment  a  thousand  new  fires,  which  are  instantly 
wrapped  in  the  swelling  flood  of  smoke  that  is   moving 


428 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


on  like  a  black  thunder-cloud,  rolling  on  the  earth,  with 
its  lightning's  glare,  and  its  thunder  rumbling  as  it  goes. 

When  Ba'tiste,  and  Bogard,  and  I,  and  Patrick  Ramond 
(who  like  Bogard  had  been  a  free  trapper  in  the  Rocky 
Mountains),  and  Pah-me-o-ne-qua  (the  red  thunder),  our 
guide  back  from  a  neighboring  village,  were  jogging 
along  on  the  summit  of  an  elevated  bluff  overlooking  an 
immense  valley  of  high  grass,  through  which  we  were 
about  to  lay  our  course. *        *  ♦  » 

"  Well,  then,  you  say  you  havo  seen  the  prairies  on  fire  ?" 
Yes.  "  You  have  seen  the  fire  on  the  mountains,  and 
beheld  it  feebly  creeping  over  the  grassy  hills  of  the  North, 
where  the  toad  and  the  timid  snail  were  pacing  from  its 
approach — all  this  you  have  seen,  and  who  has  not  ?  But 
who  has  seen  the  vivid  lightnings,  and  heard  the  roaring 
thunder  of  the  rolling  conflagration  which  sweeps  over  the 
deep-clad  prairies  of  the  West?  Who  has  dashed,  on  his 
wild  horse,  through  an  ocean  of  grass,  with  the  raging 
tempest  at  his  back,  rolling  over  the  land  its  swelling  waves 
of  liquid  fire?"  What!  "Aye,  even  so.  Ask  the  red 
savage  of  the  wilds  what  is  awful  and  sublime.  Ask  him 
where  the  Great  Spirit  has  mixed  up  all  the  elements  of 
death,  and  if  he  does  not  blow  them  over  the  land  in  a  storm 
of  fire  ?  Ask  him  what  foe  he  has  met,  that  regarded  not 
his  frightening  yells,  or  his  sinewy  bow  ?  Ask  these  lords 
of  the  land,  who  vauntingly  challenge  the  thunder  and 
lightning  of  Heaven — whether  there  is  not  one  foe  that 
travels  over  their  land,  too  swift  for  their  feet,  and  too 
mighty  for  their  strength — at  whose  approach  their  stout 
hearts  sicken,  and  their  strong-armed  courage  withers  to 
nothing  ?  Ask  him  again  (if  he  is  sullen,  and  his  eyes  set  in 

their  sockets) — 'Hush! sh! shl' — he  will  tell 

you,  (with  a  soul  too  proud  to  confess — his  head  sunk  on  his 
breast,  and  his  hand  over  his  mouth) — •  that's  we^Vctne/'" 


^W^f 


'If^ 


NOUTH   AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


429 


I  said  to  my  comrades,  as  wo  were  about  to  descend 
from  the  towering  blufiFs  into  tlic  prairie — "  We  will  take 
that  buflfalo  trail,  where  the  travelling  herds  have  slashed 
down  the  high  grass,  and  making  for  that  blue  point, 
rising,  as  you  can  just  discern,  above  this  ocean  of  grass ; 
a  good  day's  work  will  bring  us  over  this  vast  meadow 
before  sunset."  We  entered  the  trail,  and  slowly  progressed 
on  our  way,  being  obliged  to  follow  the  winding  paths 
of  the  buffaloes,  for  the  grass  was  higher  than  the  backs  of 
our  horses.  Soon  after  we  entered,  my  Indian  guide  dis- 
mounted slowly  from  his  horse,  and  lying  prostrate  on  the 
ground,  with  his  face  in  the  dirt,  he  criedf  and  was  talking 
to  the  Spirits  of  the  brave — "For,"  said  he,  "over  this 
beautiful  plain  dwells  the  Spirit  of  fire !  he  rides  in  yonder 
cloud — his  face  blackens  with  rage  at  the  sound  of  the 
trampling  hoofs — the  fire-how  is  in  his  hand — he  draws  it 
across  the  path  of  the  Indian,  and  quicker  than  lightning,  a 
thousand  flames  rise  to  destroy  him ;  such  is  the  talk  of  my 
fathers,  and  the  ground  is  whitened  with  their  bones.  It 
was  here,"  said  he,  "  that  the  brave  son  of  Wah-chee-ton, 
and  the  strong-armed  warriors  of  his  band  just  twelve 
moons  since,  licked  the  fire  from  the  blazing  wand  of  that 
great  magician.  Their  pointed  spears  were  drawn  upon 
the  backs  of  the  treacherous  Sioux,  whose  swifter-flying 
horses  led  them,  in  vain,  to  the  midst  of  this  valley  of 
death.  A  circular  cloud  sprang  up  from  the  prairie  around 
theml  it  was  raised,  and  their  doom  was  fixed  by  the 
Spirit  of  fire.  It  was  on  this  vast  plain  of  fire-grass  that 
waves  over  our  heads,  that  the  swift  foot  of  Mah-to-ga  was 
laid.  It  is  here,  also,  that  the  fleet-bounding  wild  horse 
mingles  his  bones  with  the  red  man ;  and  the  eagle's  wing 
is  melted  as  he  darts  over  its  surface.  Friends  1  it  is  the 
season  of  fire ;  and  I  fear,  from  the  smell  of  the  wind,  that 
the  Spirit  is  awake!" 

Pahme-o-nc-qua  said  no  more,  but  mounted  his  wild 
horse,  and  waving  his  hand,  his  red  shoulders  were  seen 
rapidly  vanishing  as  he  glided  through  the  thick  mazes  of 


480 


LKTTERS    AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


waving  grass.  'We  were  on  his  trail,  and  busily  traced 
him  until  the  midday-sun  had  brought  us  to  the  ground 
with  our  refreshments  spread  before  us.  He  partook  of 
them  not,  but  stood  like  a  statue,  while  his  black  eyes,  in 
sullen  silence,  swept  the  horizon  round;  and  then  with  a 
deep-drawn  sigh,  he  gracefully  sunk  to  the  earth,  and  laid 
with  his  face  to  the  ground.  Our  buffalo  tongues  and 
pomican,  and  marrow-fat,  were  spread  before  us;  and  we 
were  in  the  full  enjoyment  of  these  dainties  of  the  Western 
world,  when,  quicker  than  the  frightened  elk,  our  Indian 
friend  sprang  upon  his  feet  I  His  eyes  skimmed  again 
slowly  over  the  prairies'  surface,  and  he  laid  himself  as 
before  on  the  ground. 

"  Red  Thunder  seems  sullen  to-day,"  said  Bogard — "  he 
startles  at  every  rush  of  the  wind,  and  scowls  at  the  whole 
world  that  is  about  him." 

*'  There's  a  rare  chap  for  you — a  fellow  who  would  shako 
his  fist  at  Heaven,  when  he  is  at  home;  and  here  in  a 
grass-patch,  must  make  his  fire-medicine  for  a  circumstance 
that  he  could  easily  leave  at  a  shako  of  his  horses'  heels." 

"  Not  sae  sure  o'  that,  my  hooney,  though  we'll  not  be 
making  too  lightly  of  the  matter,  nor  either  bo  frightened 
at  the  mon's  strange  octions.  But,  Bogard,  I'll  tell  ye  in  a 
'ord  (and  thot's  enough),  there's  something  more  than  odds 
in  all  this  ^medicine.''  If  this  mon's  a  fool,  he  was  born  out 
of  his  own  country,  that's  all — and  if  the  divil  ivcr  gits 
him,  he  must  take  him  cowld,  for  he  is  too  swift  and  too 
wide-awake  to  be  taken  alive — you  understond  thot,  I 
Buppouse?  But,  to  come  to  the  plain  matter — supposin 
that  the  Fire  Spirit  (and  I  go  for  somewhat  of  witchcraft), 
I  say  supp'isin  that  this  Fire  Spirit  should  jist  impty  his 
pipe  on  tother  side  of  this  prairie,  and  strike  up  a  bit  of  a 
blaze  in  this  high  grass,  and  send  it  packing  across  in  this 
direction,  before  sich  a  death  of  a  wind  as  this  is  I  By  the 
hull  barley,  I'll  bet  you'd  be  after  '  making  medicine,^  and 
taking  a  bit  of  it,  too,  to  get  rid  of  the  racket." 

"  Yes,  but  you  see,  Patrick — 


I  — 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


431 


"Ncevcr  mind  thot  (not  wishin  to  distarb  you);   and 

su[)pou.so   tho  blowin  wind  was   coming  fast  ahead,  jist 

blowin  about  our  ears  a  warld  of  smoke  and  cbokiu  us  to 

ditli,  and  we  were  dancin  about  a  Varginny  reel  among 

these  little  paths,  where  the  divil  would  we  be  by  the  time 

we  got  to  that  bluff,  for  it's  noo  fool  of  a  distance  ?    Given 

you  time  to  spake,  I  would  say  u  word  more  (askin  your 

pardon),  I  know  by  the  expression  of  your  face,  raon,  you 

never  have  seen  the  world  on  fire  yet,  and  therefore  you 

know  nothin  at  all  of  a  hurly  burly  of  this  kind — did  ye  ? 

— did  ye  iver  see  (and  I  jist  want  to  know,)  did  ye  iver  see 

tho  fire  in  high-grass,  runnin  with  a  strong  wind,  about 

five  mile  and  the  half,  and  thin  hear  it  strike  into  a  slash 

of  dry  cane  brake!!    I   would   jist  ax  you  that?    By 

thunedcr  you  niver  have — for  your  eyes  would  jist  stick 

out  of  your  head  at  the  thought  of  it  I     Did  ye  iver  look 

way  into  the  backside  of  Mr.  Mael'^el's  Moscow,  and.  see 

the  flashin  flames  a  runnin  up ;  and  then  hear  the  poppin 

of  the  militia  fire  jist  afterwards?    then  you  have  jist  a 

touch  of  it !   ye're  jist  beginnin — ye  may  talk  about  fires 

— but  this  is  sich  a  haste  of  a  fire  I    Ask  Jack  Sanford,  he's 

a  chop  that  can  tell  jou  all  aboot  it.    Not  wishin  to 

distarb  you,  I  would  say  a  word  more — and  that  is  this — 

If  I  were  advisin,  I  would  say  that  we  are  gettin  too  far 

into  this  imbustible  meadow ;  for  the  grass  is  dry,  and  the 

wind  is  too  strong  to  make  a  light  matter  of,  at  this  season 

of  the  year;  an  now  I'll  jist  tell  ye  how  M'Kenzie  and  I 

were  sarved  in  this  very  place  about  two  years  ago ;  and 

he's  a  worldly  chop,  and  niver  aslape,  my  word  for  that 

hollo,  what's  that !" 

Bed  Thunder  was  on  his  feet! — his  long  arm  was 
stretched  over  the  grass,  and  his  blazing  eye-balls  starting 
from  their  sockets!  "White  man  (said  he),  see  ye  that 
small  cloud  lifting  itself  from  the  prairie?  he  rises!  the 
hoofs  of  our  horses  have  waked  him !  The  Fire  Spirit  is 
awake — this  wind  is  from  his  nostrils,  and  his  face  is  this 
way!"    No  more — but  his  swift  horse  darted  under  him, 


I 


Ml    lUl 


'i!i.r^ 


ICilHr-'^riTftMiWC 


482 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


;"nd  ho  gracefully  slid  over  the  waving  grass  as  it  was  bent 
by  the  wind.  Our  viands  were  loft,  and  we  were  swift  on 
his  trail.  The  extraordinary  leaps  of  his  vild  horse,  occa- 
sionally raised  his  red  shouldera  to  view,  and  he  sank 
again  in  the  waving  billows  of  grass.  The  tremulous 
wind  was  hurrying  by  us  fast,  and  on  it  was  borne  th^ 
agitated  wing  of  the  soaring  eagle.  His  neck  was  stretched 
for  the  towering  bluff,  and  the  thrilling  screams  of  his 
voice  told  the  secret  that  was  behind  him.  Our  horses 
wore  swift,  and  wo  struggled  hard,  yet  hope  waa  feeble,  for 
the  bluff  was  yet  blue,  and  nature  nearly  exhausted !  The 
sunshine  vas  dying,  and  a  cool  shadow  advancing  over  the 
plain.  Not  daring  to  look  back,  wo  strained  every  nerve. 
The  roar  of  a  distant  cataract  seemed  gradually  advancing 
on  us — the  winds  increased,  tho  howling  tempest  was 
maddening  behind  us — and  the  swift-winged  beetle  and 
heath  hens,  instinctively  drew  their  straight  lines  over  our 
heads.  Tho  fleet-bounding  antelope  passed  us  also;  and 
the  still  stmfter  long-legged  hare,  who  leaves  but  a  shadow 
as  he  flies !  Hero  was  no  time  for  thought — but  I  recolleot 
the  heavens  were  overcast' — the  distant  thunder  was  heard 
— the  lightning's  glare  was  reddening  the  scene — and  the 
smell  that  came  on  the  winds  struck  terror  to  my  soul !  * 
*****  The  piercing  yell  of 
my  savage  guide  at  this  moment  camo  back  upon  the 
winds — his  robe  was  seen  waving  in  the  air,  and  his 
foaming  horso  leaping  up  the  towering  bluff. 

Our  breath  and  our  sinews,  in  this  last  struggle  for  life, 
were  just  enough  to  bring  us  to  its  summit.  Wo  had  risen 
from  a  sea  of  fire  I  "Great  God!  (I  exclaimed)  how 
sublime  to  gaze  into  that  valley,  where  the  elements  of 
nature  are  so  strangely  convulsed !"  Ask  not  tho  poet  or 
painter  how  it  looked,  for  they  can  tell  you  not;  but  ask 
the  naked  savage,  and  watch  tho  electric  twinge  of  his 
manly  nerves  and  muscles,  as  lie  pronounces  tho  length- 


ened "  hush sh- 


-"  his  hand  on  his  mouth,  and  his 


glaring  eye-balls  looking  you  to  the  very  soul  I 


NORTH  AMERICAN   INDIANS. 


438 


I  beheld  boncftth  me  an  immense  cloud  of  black  smoke, 
which  extended  from  one  extremity  of  this  vast  plain  to  the 
other,  and  seemed  majestically  to  roll  over  its  surface  in  a 
bed  of  liquid  fire ;  and  above  this  mighty  desolation,  as  it 
rolled  along,  the  whitened  smoke,  pale  with  terror,  was 
streaming  and  rising  up  in  magnificent  cliffs  to  heaven ! 

I  stood  secure,  but  tremblingly,  and  heard  the  maddening 
wind,  which  hurled  this  monster  o'er  the  land — I  heard  the 
roaring  thunder,  and  saw  its  thousand  lightnings  flash;  and 
then  I  saw  heldnd,  the  black  and  smoking  desolation  of  t'\ia 
ttorm  oifircl 


2i 


f    '^:.  iS^ 


ti    ,i 


^■1 


mn 


!«■' 


m\h 


"   .    :i: 


m 

i 


LETTER  No.  XXXIV. 
FORT  LEAVENWORTH,  LOWER  MSSOUIil. 


Since  writing  the  last  epistle,  some  considerable  time  has 
elapsed,  which  has,  nevertheless,  been  filled  up  and  used  to 
advantage,  as  I  have  been  moving  about  and  using  my  brush 
amongst  difierent  tribes  in  this  vicinity.  The  Indiana 
that  may  be  said  to  belong  to  this  vicinity,  and  who 
constantly  visit  this  post,  are  the  loways — Konzas— 
Pawnees — Omahas — Ottces,  tnd  Missouries  (primitive), 
and  Delawares — Kickapoos — Potawatomies — Weahs — Peo- 
rias — Shawanos,  Kaskaskias  (semi-civilized  remnants  of 
tribes  that  have  been  removed  to  this  neighborliood  by 
the  Government,  within  tlie  few  years  jjast).  These  luttor- 
iiaraed  tribes  are,  to  a  considerable  degree,  agriculturalists; 
getting  their  living  principally  by  ploughing,  and  raising 
(434) 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


435 


corn  and  cattle  and  horses.  They  have  been  left  on  the 
frontier,  surrounded  by  civilized  neighbours,  where  they 
have  at  length  been  induced  to  sell  out  their  lands,  or  ex- 
change them  for  a  much  larger  tract  of  wild  lands  in  these 
regior",  which  the  Government  has  purchased  from  the 
wildei  tribes. 

Of  the  first  named,  the  loways  may  be  said  to  be  the 
farthest  departed  from  primitive  modes,  as  they  arc  depend- 
ing chiefly  on  their  corn-fields  for  subsistence ;  though  their 
appearance,  both  in  their  dwellings  and  personal  looks, 
dress,  modes,  &c.,  is  that  of  the  primitive  Indian. 

The  loways  are  a  small  tribe,  of  about  fourteen  hundred 
persons,  living  in  a  snug  little  village  within  a  few  miles  of 
the  eastern  bank  of  the  Missouri  Eiver,  a  few  miles  above 
this  place. 

The  present  chief  of  this  tribe  is  Notch-ee-ning-a  (the 
white  cloud,)  the  son  of  a  very  distinguished  chief  of  the 
same  name,  who  died  recently,  after  gaming  the  love  of  his 
tribe,  and  the  respect  of  all  the  civilized  world  who  knew 
him.  If  my  time  and  space  ^vi\\  admit  it,  and  I  should  not 
forget  it,  I  shall  take  another  occasion  to  detail  some  of  the 
famous  transactions  of  his  signal  life. 

The  son  of  White  Cloud,  wlio  is  now  chief,  was  tastefully 
dressed  with  a  buffalo  robf/,  wrapped  around  him,  with  a 
necklace  of  grizzly  bears'  claws  on  his  neck ;  with  shield, 
bow,  and  quiver  on,  and  a  profusion  of  wampum  strings  on 
his  neck. 

Wy-ee-yogh  (the  man  of  sense),  is  another  of  this  tribe, 
much  distinguished  for  his  bravery  and  early  warlike 
achievements.  Ilis  head  was  dressed  with  a  broad  silver 
band  passing  around  it,  and  decked  out  with  the  crest  of 
horse-hair. 

Pah-ta-coo-cho  (the  shooting  cedar),  and  Was-com-mun 
(the  busy  man),  are  also  distinguished  warriors  of  the  tribe  • 
tastefully  dressed  and  equipped,  the  one  with  his  war-club 
on  his  arm,  the  other  with  bow  and  arnnvs  in  his  hand  • 
both  wore  around  their  waists  beautiful  buflhlo  robes,  and 


III-  <t- 


t  ■'h-M 


¥ 


iiij 


46 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES   ON  THE 


both  had  turbans  made  of  vari-colored  cotton  shawls,  pur 
chased   of  the  Fur  Traders.    Around  their  necks   were 
ncckhiccs  of  the  bears'  claws,  and  a  profusion  of  beads  and 


Tin:  NKCKLACE  OF  BKARs'  CLAWS. 

wampum.  Tlieir  oars  were  profusely  strung  with  beads; 
and  their  naked  shoulders  curiously  streaked  and  daubed 
•with  red  paint. 

The  Konzas,  of  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  sixty 
Bouls,  reside  at  the  distance  of  sixty  or  eighty  miles  from 


•Ui  ; 


^ 


beads ; 
daubed 

[1  sixty 
;s  from 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


437 


this  place,  on  the  Konzas  River,  fifty  miles  above  its  union 
with  the  Missouri,  from  the  West. 

This  tribe  has  undoubtedly  sprung  from  the  Osages,  as 
their  personal  appearance,  language  and  traditions  clearly 
prove.  They  are  living  adjoining  to  the  Osages  at  this 
time,  and  although  a  kindred  people,  have  sometimes 
deadly  warfare  with  them.  The  present  chief  of  this  tribe 
is  known  by  the  name  of  the  "  White  Plume ;"  a  very 
urbane  and  hospitable  man,  of  good  portly  size,  speaking 
some  English,  and  making  himself  good  company  for  all 
white  persons  who  travel  through  his  country  and  have  the 
good  luck  to  shake  his  liberal  and  hospitable  hand. 

It  has  been  to  me  a  source  of  much  regret,  that  I  did  not 
get  the  portrait  of  this  celebrated  chief;  but  I  have  painted 
several  others  distinguished  in  the  tribe,  which  are  fair 
specimens  of  these  pe'>ple.  Sho-me-cos-se  (the  wolf),  a  chief 
of  some  distinction,  with  a  bold  and  manly  outline  of  head; 
exhibiting,  like  most  of  this  tribe,  an  European  outline  of 
features,  signally  worthy  the  notice  of  the  enquiring  world. 
The  head  of  this  chief  was  most  curiously  ornamented,  and 
his  neck  bore  a  profusion  of  wampum  strings. 

The  custom  of  shaving  the  head,  and  ornamenting  it 
with  the  crest  of  deer's  hair,  belongs  to  this  tribe;  and  also 
to  the  Osages,  the  Pawnees,  the  Sacs,  and  Foxes,  and 
loways,  and  to  no  other  tribe  that  I  know  of;  unless  it  be 
in  some  few  instances,  where  individuals  have  introduced 
it  into  their  tribes,  merely  by  way  of  imitation. 

With  these  tribes,  the  custom  is  one  uniformly  adhered 
to  by  every  man  in  the  nation ;  excepting  some  few 
instances  along  the  frontier,  where  efforts  are  made  to 
imitate  white  men,  by  allowing  the  hair  to  grow  out. 

The  hair  is  cut  as  close  to  the  head  as  possible,  except 
a  tuft  the  size  of  the  palm  of  the  hand,  on  the  crown  of  the 
liead,  which  is  loft  of  two  inches  in  length;  and  in  the 
centre  of  wliich  is  fastened  a  beautiful  crest  made  of  the 
hair  of  the  deer's  tail  (dyed  red)  and  hor.sc-hair,  and  often- 
times surmounted  with  the  war-eagle's  quill.    In  the  centre 


'i 


III  ti&t 


m 


WiiV- 


mmmmm 


•« 


438 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


of  the  patch  of  hair,  which  I  said  was  left  of  a  couple  of 
inches  in  length,  is  preserved  a  small  lock,  which  is  never 
cut,  but  cultivated  to  the  greatest  length  possible,  and  uni- 
formly kept  in  braid,  and  passed  through  a  piece  of 
curiously  carved  bone ;  which  lies  in  the  centre  of  the 
crest,  and  spreads  it  out  to  its  uniform  shape,  which  they 
study  with  great  care  to  preserve.  Through  this  little 
braid,  and  outside  of  the  bone,  passes  a  small  wooden  or 
bono  key,  which  holds  the  crest  to  the  head.  This  little 
braid  is  called  in  these  tribes,  the  ^^ scalp-lock"  and  is 
scrupulously  preserved  in  this  way,  and  offered  to  their 
enemy  if  they  can  get  it,  as  a  trophy  ;  which  it  seems  in  all 
tribes  they  are  anxious  to  yield  to  their  conquerors,  in  case 
they  are  killed  in  battle ;  and  which  it  would  be  considered 
cowardly  and  disgraceful  for  a  warrior  to  shave  off,  leaving 
nothing  for  his  enemy  to  grasp  for,  when  he'  falls  into  his 
hands  "^I'the  events  of  battle. 

Amongst  those  tribes  who  thus  shave  and  ornament  their 
heads,  the  crest  is  uniformly  blood-red ;  and  the  upper  part 
of  the  head,  and  generally  a  considerable  part  of  the  face,  as 
red  as  they  can  possibly  make  it  with  vermilion.  I  found 
these  peojile  cutting  off  the  hair  with  small  scissors,  which 
tliey  purchase  of  the  Fur  Traders ;  and  they  told  me  that 
previous  to  getting  scissors,  they  cut  it  away  with  their 
knives  ;  and  before  they  got  knives,  they  were  in  the  habit 
of  burning  it  off  with  red  hot  stones,  which  was  a  very 
slow  and  painful  operation. 

With  the  exception  of  these  few,  all  the  other  tribes  in 
North  America  cultivate  the  hair  to  the  greatest  length 
they  possibly  can ;  preserving  it  to  flow  over  their  shoulders 
and  backs  in  great  profusion,  and  quite  unwilling  to  spare 
the  smallest  lock  of  it  for  any  consideration. 

The  Pawnees  arc  a  very  powerful  and  warlike  nation, 
living  on  the  river  Platte,  about  one  hundred  miles  from 
its  junction  with  the  Missouri ;  laying  claim  to,  and  exercising 
sway  over,  the  whole  country,  from  its  mouth  to  the  base 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 


^v 


NORTH   AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


489 


The    present  number  of  this  tribe  is  ten  or  twelve 
thousand;  about  one  half  the  number  they  had  in  1882, 


V  'ii:        I 


k.  PAWNEG  WARRIOR. 


when    that  most    appalling  disease,  the   small-pox,  wa8 
accidentally  introduced  amongst  them  by  the  Fu?  Traders, 
and  whisky  sellers  ;  when  ten  thousand  (or  more)  of  them 
perished  in  the  course  of  a  few  months. 
The  Omahaws,  of  fifteen  hundred;  the  Ottoes  of  six 


■vH- 


wm 


'hi. 


440 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


hundred ;  and  Missouries  of  four  hundred,  who  are  now 
living  under  the  protection  and  surveillance  of  the  Pawnees, 
and  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  them,  were  all  powerl'ul 
tribes,  but  so  reduced  by  this  frightful  disease,  and  at  the 
same  time,  that  they  were  unable  longer  to  stand  against 
so  formidable  enemies  as  they  had  around  them,  in  the 
Sioux,  Pawnees,  Sacs,  and  Foxes,  and  at  last  last  merged 
into  the  Pawnee  tribe,  under  whose  wing  and  protection 
they  now  live. 

The  period  of  this  awful  calamity  in  these  regions,  was 
one  that  will  be  long  felt,  and  long  preserved  in  the  tradi- 
tions of  these  people.  The  great  tribe  of  the  Sioux,  of 
whom  I  have  heretofore  spoken,  suflered  severely  with  the 
same  disease ;  as  well  as  the  Osages  and  Konzas ;  and  par- 
ticularly the  unfortunate  Puncaus,  who  were  almost  extin- 
guished by  it. 

The  destructive  ravages  of  this  most  fatal  disease  amongst 
these  poor  people,  who  knew  of  no  specific  for  it,  is  beyond 
the  knowledge,  and  almost  beyond  the  belief,  of  the  civil- 
ized world.  Terror  and  dismay  are  carried  with  it  and 
awful  despair,  in  the  midst  of  which  they  plunge  into  the 
river,  when  in  the  highest  state  of  fever,  and  die  in  a 
moment ;  or  dash  themselves  from  precipices ;  or  plunge 
their  knives  to  their  hearts,  to  rid  themselves  from  the 
pangs  of  slow  and  disgusting  death. 

Amongst  the  formidable  tribe  of  Pawnees,  the  Fur  Trad- 
ers aro  yet  doing  some  business ;  but  from  what  I  can  learn, 
the  Indians  aro  dealing  with  some  considerable  distrust, 
with  a  people  who  introduced  so  fatal  a  calamity  amongst 
them,  to  which  one  half  of  their  tribe  have  fallen  victims. 
The  Traders  made  their  richest  harvest  amongst  these  peo- 
ple, before  this  disease  broke  out;  and  since  it  subsided, 
quite  a  number  of  their  lives  have  paid  the  forfeit,  according 
to  the  Indian  laws  of  retribution.* 

*  Since  the  above  was  written,  I  have  had  the  very  great  pleasure  of 
reading  the  notes  of  the  Honorable  Charles  A.  Murray,  (who  was  for 
eevcral  mouths  a  guest  amongst  the  Pawnees),  and  also  of  being  several 


NORTH  AMERICAN   INDIANS. 


441 


Tho  Pawnees  have  ever  been  looked  upon,  as  a  very 
warlike  and  hostile  tribe ;  and  unusually  so,  since  tho 
calamity  which  I  have  mentioned. 

Major  Dougherty,  ol  whom  I  have  heretofore  spoken, 
has  been  for  several  years  their  agent ;  and  by  his  unre- 
mitted endeavor,  with  an  unequalled  familiarity  with 
the  Indian  character,  and  unyielding  integrity  of  purpose, 
has  successfully  restored  and  established  a  system  of  good 
feeling  and  respect  between  tt  .i  and  the  "  pale  faces," 
upon  whom  they  looked,  naturally  and  experimentally,  as 
their  destructive  enemies. 

The  Pawnees  are  divided  into  four  bands,  or  families — 
designated  by  the  names  of  Grand  Pawnees — Tappage 
Pawnees  — Republican  Pawnees,  and  Wolf  Pawnees. 

Each  of  these  bauds  has  a  chief  at  its  head ;  which 

times  a  fellow-traveller  with  him  in  America;  and  at  last  a  debtor  to 
him  for  his  signal  kindness  and  friendship  in  London. 

Mr.  Murray's  account  of  the  Pawnees,  as  far  as  he  saw  them,  is  with- 
out doubt  drawn  with  great  fidelity,  and  he  makes  them  out  a  pretty  bad 
set  of  fellows.  As  I  have  before  mentioned,  there  is  probaly  not  an- 
other tribe  on  the  Continent,  that  has  been  more  abused  and  incensed 
by  the  system  of  trade,  and  money-making,  than  the  Pawnees ;  and  the 
Honorable  Mr.  Murray,  with  his  companion,  made  his  way  boldly  into 
the  heart  of  their  country,  witliout  guide  or  interpreter,  and  I  consider 
at  great  hazard  to  his  life  ;  and,  from  all  the  circumstances,  I  have  been 
ready  to  congratulate  him  on  getting  out  of  their  country  as  well  as  he 
did. 

I  mentioned  in  a  former  page,  the  awful  destruction  of  this  tribe  by 
the  small-pox ;  a  few  years  previous  to  which,  some  one  of  the  Fur 
Traders  visited  a  threat  upon  these  people,  that  if  they  did  not  comply 
with  some  condition,  "  he  would  let  the  small-pox  out  of  a  bottle  and 
destroy  the  whole  of  them."  The  pestilence  has  since  been  introduced 
aecidently  amongst  them  by  the  Traders  ;  and  the  standing  tradition  of 
the  tribe  now  is  that  "  the  Traders  opened  a  bottle  and  let  it  out  to 
destroy  them."  Under  such  circumstances,  from  amongst  a  people  who 
have  been  impoverished  by  tho  system  of  trade,  without  any  body  to 
protect  him,  I  cannot  but  congratulate  my  Honorable  friend  for  his 
peaceable  retreat,  where  others  before  him  have  been  less  fortunate ; 
and  regret  at  the  same  time,  that  he  could  not  have  been  my  companion 
to  somo  others  of  the  remote  tribes. 


ii.j'i)!" 


0. '  '- 


lie-     »   '-"( 

'.if 


i*'v-i  ji  J"!  Ill 


^  »      H  '    -Vi 


mi-'"' 


442 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES. 


chiefs,  with  all  the  nation,  acknowledge  a  superior  chief  at 
whose  voice  they  all  move. 

The  Pawnees  live  in  four  villages,  some  few  miles  apart, 
on  the  banks  of  the  Platte  river,  having  their  allies  the 
Omahas  and  Ottoes  so  near  to  them  as  easily  to  act  in 
concert,  in  case  of  invasion  from  any  other  tribe ;  and  from 
the  fcict  that  half  or  more  of  them  are  supplied  with  gurj 
and  ammunition,  they  are  able  to  withstand  the  assoi >,£  ot 
any  tribe  that  may  come  upon  them. 

Of  these  wild  tribes  I  have  much  mor*.  q  store  to 
say  in  future,  and  shall  certainly  make  another  budget  of 
Letters  from  this  place,  or  from  other  regions  from  whence 
I  may  wish  to  write,  and  possibly  lack  material/  All  of 
these  tribes,  as  well  as  the  numerous  semi- civilized  rem- 
nants of  tribes,  that  have  been  thrown  out  from  the  borders 
of  our  settlements,  have  missionary  establishments  and 
schools,  as  well  as  agricultural  efforts  amongst  them  ;  and 
will  furnish  valuable  evidence  as  to  the  success  that  those 
philanthropic  and  benevolent  exertions  have  met  with,  con- 
tendiiig  (as  they  have  had  to  do)  with  the  contaminating 
influences  of  whisky-sellers,  and  other  mercenary  men, 
catering  for  their  purses  and  their  unholy  appetites. 


LETTER  No.  XXXV. 
ST.  LOUIS,  mssouiii. 

My  little  bark  has  been  soaked  in  the  water  again, 
and  Ba'tiste  and  Bogard  have  paddled,  and  I  have 
steered  and  dodged  our  litle  craft  amongst  snags  and 
sawyers,  until  at  last  we  landed  the  humble  little  thing 
amongst  the  huge  steamers  and  floating  palaces  at  the 
wharf  of  this  bustling  and  growing  city. 

And  first  of  all,  I  must  relate  the  fate  of  my  little  boat, 
which  had  borne  us  safe  over  two  thousand  miles  of  the 
Missouri's  turbid  and  boiling  current,  with  no  fault,  except- 
ing two  or  three  instances,  when  the  waves  became  too 
saucy,  she,  like  the  best  of  boats  of  her  size,  went  to  the 
bottom,  and  left  us  soused,  to  paddle  our  way  to  the  shore, 
and  drag  out  our  things  and  dry  them  in  the  sun. 

(443) 


■M 


4.U 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


"\V  hen  we  landed  at  the  wharf,  my  luggage  was  all  taken 
out,  ana  removed  to  my  hotel ;  and  when  I  returned  a  fow 
hours  afterwards,  to  look  for  my  little  boat,  to  whieh  I  had 
contracted  a  peculiar  attachment  (although  I  had  left  it  in 
special  charge  of  a  person  at  work  on  the  wharf) ;  some 
mystery  or  medicine  operation  had  relieved  me  from  any 
further  anxiety  or  trouble  about  it — it  had  gone  and  never 
returned,  although  it  had  safely  passed  the  countries  of 
mysteries,  and  had  often  laid  weeks  and  months  at  the 
villages  of  rod  men,  witb  no  laws  to  guard  it ;  and  where 
it  had  also  ofton  been  taken  out  of  the  water  by  mystery, 
inen^  and  carried  up  the  bank,  and  turned  against  my 
wigwam ;  and  by  them  again  safely  carried  to  the  river's 
edge,  and  put  afloat  upon  the  water,  when  I  was  ready  to 
take  a  seat  in  it. 

St.  Louis,  which  is  fourteen  hundred  miles  west  of  New 
York,  is  a  flourishing  city,  and  destined  to  be  the  great 
emporium  of  the  West — the  greatest  inland  town  in 
America.  Its  location  is  on  the  Western  bank  of  the 
Mississippi  river,  twenty  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the 
Missouri,  and  fourteen  hundred  above  the  entrance  of  the 
Mississippi  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

This  is  the  great  depot  of  all  the  Fur  Trading  Companies 
to  the  Upper  Missouri  and  Rocky  Mountains,  and  their 
Btartiug-place ;  and  also  for  the  Santa  Fc,  and  other 
Trading  Companies,  who  reach  the  Mexican  borders  over- 
land, to  trade  for  silver  bullion,  from  the  extensive  mines 
of  that  rich  country. 

I  have  also  made  it  my  starting-point,  and  place  of 
deposit,  to  which  I  send  from  dift'erent  quarters,  my 
packages  of  paintings  and  Indian  articles,  minerals,  fossils, 
&c.,  as  I  collect  them  in  various  regions,  here  to  be  stored 
till  my  return ;  and  where  on  my  last  return,  if  I  ever 
make  it,  I  shall  hustle  them  altogether,  and  remove  thcra 
to  the  East. 

To  this  place  I  had  transmitted  by  steamer  and  other 
conveyance,  about  twenty  boxes  and  packages  at  diflbrent 


NORTH   AMERICAN  lifDIANS. 


445 


times,  as  my  note-book  shewed ;  and  I  have,  on  looking 
them  up  and  enumerating  them,  been  lucky  enough  to 
recover  and  recognize  about  fifteen  of  the  twenty,  which  is 
a  pretty  fair  proportion  for  this  wild  and  desperate  country, 
and  the  very  comcientioua  hands  they  often  are  doomed  to 
pass  through. 

Ba'tisto  and  Bogard  (poor  fellows)  I  found,  after  re- 
maining here  a  few  days,  had  been  about  as  uicere- 
moniously  snatched  off,  as  my  little  canoe;  and  Bogard,  in 
particular,  as  he  had  made  show  of  a  few  hundred  dollarsj 
which  he  had  saved  of  his  hard  earnings  in  the  Eocky 
Mountains. 

He  came  down  with  a  liberal  heart,  which  he  had 
learned  in  an  Indian  life  of  ten  years,  with  a  strong  taste, 
which  he  had  acquired,  for  whisky,  in  a  country  where  it 
was  sold  for  twenty  dollars  per  gallon ;  and  with  an  in- 
dependent feeling,  which  ill  harmonized  with  rules  and 
regulations  of  a  country  of  laws;  and  the  consequence 
Boon  was,  that  by  the  "  Hawk  and  Buzzard"  system,  and 
Rocky  Mountain  liberality,  and  Eocky  Mountain  prod, 
gality,  the  poor  fellow  was  soon  "jugged  up;"  where  ho 
could  deliberately  dream  of  beavers,  and  the  free  and 
cooling  breezes  of  the  mountain  air,  without  the  pleasure 
of  setting  his  trap  for  the  one,  or  even  indulging  the  hope 
of  ever  again  having  the  pleasure  of  breathing  the  other. 

I  had  imbibed  rather  less  of  these  delightful  passions  in 
the  Indian  country,  and  consequently  indulged  less  in 
them  when  I  came  back;  and  of  course,  >.;is  rather  more 
fortunate  than  poor  Bogard,  whose  feelings  I  soothed  as 
iur  as  it  laid  in  my  power,  and  prepared  to  "lay  my 
course"  to  the  South,  with  colors  and  canvass  in  readiness 
for  another  campaign. 

In  my  sojourn  in  St.  Louis,  amongst  many  other  kind 
and  congenial  friends  whom  I  met,  I  have  had  daily 
interviews  with  the  venerable  Governor  Clarke,  whose 
whitened  locks  are  still  shaken  in  roars  of  laughter,  and 
good  jests  among  the  numerous  citizens,  Avho   all  love 


Am 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES. 


hi  1 11,  and  continually  rally  around  bim  in  his  liospitablo 
muuijion. 

Governor  Clarke,  with  Captain  Lewis,  were  the  first 
explorers  across  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  down  the 
Columbia  to  tbo  Pacific  Ocean,  thirty-two  years  ago;  whose 
tour  has  been  published  in  a  very  interesting  work,  which 
has  long  been  before  the  world.  My  works  and  ray  design 
have  been  warmly  approved  and  applauded  by  this 
excellent  patriarch  of  the  Western  World;  and  kindly 
recommended  by  him  in  such  ways  as  have  been  of  great 
service  to  m^..  Governor  Clarke  is  now  Superintendent  of 
Indian  Aflairs  for  all  tho  Western  and  North  Western 
regions ;  and  surely,  their  interests  could  never  have  been 
intrusted  to  better  or  abler  hands.* 

So  long  have  I  been  recruiting,  and  enjoying  the  society 
of  friends  in  this  town,  that  the  navigation  of  the  river  has 
suddenly  closed,  being  entirely  frozen  over;  and  the 
earth's  surface  covered  with  eighteen  inches  of  drifting 
snow,  which  has  driven  me  to  the  only  means,  and  I  start 
in  a  day  or  two,  with  a  tough  little  pony  and  a  packhorse, 
to  trudge  through  the  snow  drifts  from  this  to  New 
Madrid,  and  perhaps  further ;  a  distance  of  three  or  four 
hundred  miles  to  the  South — where  I  must  venture  to 
meet  a  warmer  climate — the  river  open,  and  steamers 
running,  to  waft  mo  to  tho  Gulf  of  Mexico.  Of  the  fate  or 
success  that  waits  me,  or  of  tho  incidents  of  that  travel,  as 
they  have  not  transpired,  I  can  as  yet  say  nothing ;  and  I 
close  my  book  for  further  time  and  future  entries. 

*  Some  year  or  two  after  writing  the  above,  I  saw  the  announcement 
of  the  death  of  this  veteran,  whose  life  has  been  one  of  faithful  service 
to  his  country,  and,  at  the  same  time,  of  strictest  fidelity  as  the  guardian 
and  friend  of  the  red  man. 


H    '    mil 


..    'J  I 


LETTER  No.  XXXVI. 
PEN3AU0LA,  WEST  FLORIDA. 

From  my  long  silence  of  late,  you  will  no  doubt  have 
deemed  me  out  of  the  civilized  and  perhaps  out  of  the 
whole  world. 

I  have,  to  be  sure,  been  a  great  deal  of  the  time  out  of 
the  limits  of  one  and,  at  times,  nearly  out  of  the  other.  Yet 
I  am  living,  and  hold  in  my  possession  a  number  of  epistles 
which  passing  events  had  dictated,  but  which  I  neglected 
to  transmit  at  the  proper  season.  In  my  headlong  transit 
through  the  Southern  tribes  of  Indians,  1  have  ^^popped 
ouf  of  the  woods  upon  this  glowing  land,  and  I  cannot 
forego  the  pleasure  of  letting  you  into  a  few  of  the  secrets 
of  this  delightful  place. 

*^Flo3—Jloris"  &c.,  every  body  knows  the  meaning  of; 
and  Florida,  in  Spar  ish,  is  a  country  of  flowers. — Perdido 

(447) 


If 


't:Mu 


448 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES   ON  THE 


is  perdition,  and  Rio  Perdido,  Hiver  of  Perdition.  Looking 
down  its  perpendicular  banks  into  its  black  woter,  its 
deptli  would  secnx  to  be  endless,  and  the  doom  of  the  un- 
wary to  be  gloomy  in  the  extreme.  Step  not  accidentally 
or  wilfully  over  its  fatal  brink,  and  Nature's  opposite 
extreme  is  spread  about  you.  You  are  literally  in  the  laud 
of  the  "  cypress  and  myrtle" — where  the  ever-green  live- 
oak  and  lofty  magnolia  dress  the  forest  in  a  perpetual 
mantle  of  green. 

The  sudden  transition  from  the  ice-bound  regions  of  the 
North  to  this  mild  climate,  in  the  midst  of  winter,  is  one  of 
peculiar  pleasure.  At  a  half-way  of  the  distance,  one's 
cloak  is  thrown  aside;  and  arrived  on  the  ever- verdant 
borders  of  Florida,  the  bosom  is  opened  and  bared  to  the 
soft  breeze  from  the  ocean's  wave,  and  the  congenial 
warmth  of  a  summer's  sun. 

Such  is  the  face  of  Nature  here  in  the  rude  month  of 
February ;  green  peas  are  served  on  the  tabic — other 
garden  vegetables  in  great  perfection,  and  garden  flowers, 
aS  well  as  wild,  giving  their  full  and  sweetest  perfume  to 
the  winds. 

I  looked  into  the  deep  and  bottomless  Perdido,  aud 
beheld  about  it  the  thousand  charms  which  Nature  has 
spread  to  allure  the  unwary  traveller  to  its  brink.  'Twas 
not  enough  to  entangle  him  in  a  web  of  sweets,  upon  its 
borders,  but  Nature  seems  to  have  used  an  art  to  draw 
Lim  to  its  bottom,  by  the  voluptuous  buds  which  blossom 
under  its  black  waters,  and  whose  vivid  colors  are  softened 
and  enriched  the  deeper  they  are  seen  below  its  surface. 
The  sweetest  of  wild  flowers  enamel  the  shores  and  spangle 
the  dark  green  tapestry  which  hangs  over  its  bosom — the 
stately  magnolia  towers  fearlessly  over  its  black  waters, 
and  sheds  (with  the  myrtle  and  jessamine)  the  richest 
perfume  over  this  chilling  pool  of  death. 

How  exquisitely  pure  and  sweet  arc  the  delicate  tendrils 
which  Nature  has  hung  over  these  scenes  of  mclaneliuly 
and  gloom  1  and  how  strong,  also,  has  she  flxod  in  man's 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


UO 


breast  the  passion  to  possess  and  enjoy  theml  I  could 
have  hung  by  the  tree  tops  over  that  fatal  stream,  or 
blindly  staggered  ovor  its  thorny  brink  to  have  culled  the 
Bweets  which  are  found  only  in  its  bosom ;  but  the 
Doisonous  fang,  I  was  told,  was  continually  aimed  at  my 
heel,  and  I  left  the  sweetened  atmosphere  of  its  dark  and 
gloomy,  yet  enamelled  shores. 

Florida  is,  in  a  great  degree,  a  dark  and  sterile  wilder- 
ness, yet  with  spots  of  beauty  and  of  loveliness,  with 
charms  that  cannot  be  forgotten.  Her  swamps  and  ever- 
glades, the  dens  of  alligators,  and  lurking  places  of  the 
desperate  savage,  gloom  the  thoughts  of  the  wary  traveller, 
whose  mind  is  cheered  and  lit  to  admiration,  when  in  the 
solitary  pine  woods,  where  he  hears  nought  but  the  echoing 
notes  of  the  sand-hill  cranes,  or  the  howling  wolf,  he 
suddenly  oreaks  out  into  the  open  savannahs,  teeming 
with  their  myriads  of  wild  flowers,  and  palmettos;  or 
where  the  winding  path  through  which  he  is  wending  his 
lonely  way,  suddenly  brings  him  out  upon  the  beach, 
where  the  rolling  sea  has  thrown  up  her  thousands  of  hilla 
and  mounds  of  sand  as  white  as  the  drifted  snow,  over 
which  her  green  waves  are  lashing,  and  sliding  back  again 
to  her  deep  green  and  agitated  bosom. 

The  hills  of  sand  are  as  purely  white  as  snow,  and  fiti,/  or 
sixty  feet  in  height,  and  supporting  on  their  tops,  and  in 
their  sides,  clusters  of  magnolia  bushes — of  myrtle — of 
palmetto  and  heather,  all  of  which  are  ever-greens,  forming 
the  most  vivid  contrast  with  the  snow-white  sand  in  which 
they  are  growing.  On  the  beach  a  family  of  Seminole 
Indians  are  encamped,  catching  and  drying  red  fish,  their 
chief  article  of  food. 

I  have  traversed  the  snow-white  shores  of  Pensacola'a 

beautiful  bay,  and  I  said  to  myself,  "Is  it  possible  that 

Nature  has  done  so  much  in  vain — or  will  the  wisdom  of 

man  lead  him  to  add  to  such  works  the  embellishments  of 

art,  and  thus  convert  to  his  own  use  and  enjoynent  the 

greatest  luxuries    of   life  ?"     As    a    travelling    stranger 

29 


I'?  ■•   '-■■-■,    ■ 


'^': 


:-fl 


460 


LETIEKS  AND  NOTES  ON  THB 


through  the  place,  I  said  *'  yes :  it  must  be  so."  Nature 
has  here  formed  the  finest  harbour  ia  the  world ;  and  the 
dashing  waves  of  the  ocean  have  thrown  around  its  shores 
the  purest  barriers  of  sand,  as  white  as  the  drifted  snow. 
Unlike  all  other  Southern  ports,  it  is  surrounded  by  liyinw 
fountains  of  the  purest  water,  and  its  shores  continually 
fanned  by  the  refreshing  breathings  of  the  sea.  To  a 
Northern  man,  the  winters  .  this  place  appear  like  a 
continual  spring  time ;  and  tne  intensity  of  a  summer's 
sun  is  cooled  into  comfort  and  luxury  by  the  ever-cheerinw 
sea-breeze. 

This  is  the  only  place  I  have  found  in  the  Southern 
country  to  which  Northern  people  can  repair  with  safety  in 
the  summer  season ;  and  I  know  not  of  a  place  in  the 
world  where  they  can  go  with  better  guarantees  of  good 
health,  and  a  reasonable  share  of  the  luxuries  of  life.  The 
town  of  Pensacola  is  beautifully  situated  on  the  shore  of 
the  bay,  and  contains  at  present  about  fifteen  hundred 
inhabitants,  most  of  them  Spanish  Creoles.  They  live  an 
easy  and  idle  life,  witliout  any  energy  further  than  for  the 
mere  means  of  living.  The  bay  abounds  in  the  greatest 
variety  of  fish,  Avhich  are  easily  taken,  and  the  finest 
quality  of  oysters  are  found  in  profusion,  even  alongside  of 
tbo  wharves. 

Government  having  fixed  upon  this  harbor  as  the  great 
naval  depot  for  all  the  Southern  coast,  the  consequence  will 
be,  that  a  vast  sum  of  public  money  will  always  be  put 
into  circulation  in  this  place ;  and  the  ofiicers  of  the  navy, 
together  with  the  olficers  of  the  army,  stationed  in  the 
three  forts  built  and  now  building  at  this  place,  will  con- 
stitute the  moBt  polished  and  desirable  society  in  our 
country. 

Of  the  few  remnants  of  Indians  remaining  in  this  part  ot 
the  country,  I  have  little  to  say  at  present,  that  could 
interest  you.  The  sum  total  that  can  be  learned  or  seen  of 
them  (like  all  others  that  are  half  civilized)  is,  that  they  are 
to  be  pitied. 


NORTH  AMERICAN   INDIANS. 


451 


The  direful  "  trumjo  of  war  "  is  blowing  in  East  Florida, 
where  I  was  "  steering  my  course ;  "  and  I  shall  in  a  few 
days  turn  my  steps  in  a  different  direction. 

Since  you  last  heard  from  me,  I  have  added  on  to  my  form- 
er Tour  "  down  the  river,  "  the  remainder  of  the  Mississippi 
(or  rather  Missouri),  from  St.  Louis  to  New  Orleans ;  and  I 
find  that,  from  its  source  to  the  Balize,  the  distance  is  four 
thousand  five  hundred  miles  only  I  I  shall  be  on  the  wing 
again  in  a  few  days,  for  a  shake  of  the  hand  with  the  Ca* 
manches,  Osages,  Pawnees,  Kioways,  Arapahoes,  &c. — some 
hints  of  whom  I  shall  certainly  give  you  from  their  different 
localities,  provided  I  can  keep  the  hair  on  my  head. 

This  Tour  will  lead  me  up  the  Arkansas  to  its  source, 
and  into  the  Rocky  Mountains,  under  the  protection  of  the 
United  States  dragoons.  You  will  begin  to  think  ere  long, 
that  I  shall  acquaint  myself  pretty  well  with  the  manners 
and  customs  of  our  country — at  least  with  the  out-land-ish 
part  of  it. 

I  shall  hail  the  day  with  pleasure,  when  I  can  again  reach 
the  free  land  of  the  lawless  savage ;  for  far  more  agreeable 
to  my  ear  is  the  Indian  yell  and  war-whoop,  than  the  civilized 
groans  and  murmnrs  about  *^ pressure,"  ^^ deposits"  ^^banh," 
^'■'boundary  questions^''  &c;  and  I  vanish  from  tbe  country 
with  the  siacere  hope  that  these  tedious  words  may  I  como 
obzohic  before  I  return.    Adieu. 


'i 


^L, 


m 


fc  ;^^:-?^'! 


K'  ti^4 


mr: 


^H  • :  ■ 


LETTER  No.  XXXVII. 

FORT  GIBSON,  ARKANSAS  TERRITORY. 

Since  the  date  of  ray  last  Letter  at  Pensacola,  in  Florida, 
I  travelled  to  New  Orleans,  and  from  thence  up  the  Mis- 
sissippi several  hundred  miles,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Arkansas; 
and  up  the  Arkansas,  seven  hundred  miles  to  tliis  place. 
We  wended  our  way  up.,  between  the  pictured  shores  of 
this  beautiful  river,  on  the  steamer  "Arkansas,"  until 
within  two  hundred  miles  of  this  post;  when  we  got  aground, 
and  the  water  falling  fast,  left  the  steamer  nearly  on  dry 
ground.  Hunting  and  fishing,  and  whist,  and  sleeping, 
and  eating,  were  our  principal  amusements  to  deceive  away 
the  time,  whilst  we  were  waiting  for  the  water  to  rise.  Lieu- 
tenant Seaton,  of  the  army,  was  one  of  my  companions  in 
misery,  whilst  we  lay  two  weeks  or  more  without  prospect 
of  furtlier  proiress — the  poor  fellow  on  his  way  to  his  po.st 
(452) 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


458 


to  join  bis  regiment,  had  left  his  trunk,  unfortunatel}',  with 
all  his  clothes  in  it;  .  nd  by  hunting  and  fishing  in  shirts 
that  I  loaned  him,  or  irom  other  causes,  we  became  yoked 
in  amusements,  in  catering  for  our  table — in  getting  fish 
and  wild  fowl ;  and,  after  that,  as  the  "  last  kick  "  for  amuse- 
ment and  pastime,  wit  another  good  companion  by  the 
name  of  Chadwick,  wc  clambered  up  and  over  the  rug- 
ged mountains'  sides,  rom  day  to  day,  turning  stones 
to  catch  centipedes  and  tar  intulas,  of  which  poisonous  reptiles 
we  caged  a  number ;  ai  1  on  the  boat  amused  ourselves 
by  betting  on  the'r  battles,  which  were  immediately  fought, 
and  life  almost  instantly  taken,  when  they  came  to- 
gether* 

Tn  this,  and  fifty  other  ways,  we  whiled  away  the  heavy 
time :  but  yet,  at  last  we  reached  our  destined  goal,  and 
here  we  are  at  present  fixed.  Fort  Gibson  is  the  extreme 
south-western  outpost  on  the  United  States  frontier; 
beautifully  situated  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  in  the  midst 
of  an  extensive  and  lovely  prairie ;  and  is  at  present  occupied 
by  the  seventh  regiment  <5f  United  States  infantry,  hereto- 
fore under  the  command  of  General  Arbuckle,  one  of  the 
oldest  officers  on  the  frontier,  and  the  original  builder  of 
the  post. 

Being  soon  to  leave  this  little  civilized  world  for  a  cam- 
paign in  the  Indian  country,  I  take  this  oppurtunity  to 
bequeath  a  few  words  before  the  moment  of  departure. 
Having  sovnjtime  since  obtained  permission  from  the  Secre- 
tary of  War  to  accompany  the  regiment  of  the  United 
States  dragoons  in  their  summer  campaign,  I  reported 
myself  at  this  place  two  months  ago,  where  I  have  been 
waiting  ever  since  for  their  organization. — After  the  many 
difficulties  which  they  have  had  to  encounter,  they  have  at 

*  Several  years  after  writing  the  above,  I  was  shocked  at  the  an- 
nouncement of  the  death  of  this  amiable  and  honorable  young  roan, 
Lieutenant  Seaton,  who  fell  a  victim  to  the  deadly  disease  of  that 
country ;  severing  another  of  the  many  fibres  of  my  heart,  which  peculiar 
circumstances  in  these  wild  regions,  had  woven,  but  to  be  broken. 


f(  'i>\ 


w 


w 

I! 


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ii 


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U 


454 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


length  all  assembled — the  grassy  plains  are  resounding 
with  the  trampling  hoofs  of  the  prancing  war-horse — and 
already  the  hills  are  echoing  back  the  notes  of  the  spirit- 
stirring  trumpets,  which  are  sounding  for  the  onset.  The 
natives  are  again  "  to  be  astonished,"  and  I  shall  probably 
again  be  a  witness  of  the  scene.  But  whether  the  approach 
of  eight  hundred  mounted  dragoons  amongst  the  Caman- 
chees  and  Pawnees,  will  afford  me  a  better  subject  for  a 
picture  of  a  gaping  and  astounded  multitude^  than  did  the 
first  approach  of  our  steamboat  amongst  the  Mandans,  &c., 
is  a  question  yet  to  be  solved.  I  am  strongly  inclined  to 
think  that  the  scene  will  not  be  less  wild  and  spirited,  and 
I  ardently  wish  it ;  for  I  have  become  so  much  Indian  of 
late,  that  my  pencil  has  lost  all  appetite  for  subjects  that 
flavors  of  tamcness.  I  should  delight  in  seeing  thcL^e  red 
knights  of  the  lance  astonishe'?,  for  it  is  then  that  they 
shew  their  brightest  hues — and  I  care  not  liow  badly  we 
frighten  them,  provided  we  hurt  them  not,  nor  frighten 
them  out  of  sketching  distance.  You  will  agree  with  me, 
that  I  am  going  farther  to  get  sitters,  than  any  of  my  fellow- 
artists  ever  did ;  but  I  take  an  indescribable  pleasure  in 
roaming  through  Nature's  trackless  wilds,  and  selecting  my 
models,  where  I  am  free  and  unshackled  by  the  killing  re- 
straints of  society  ;  where  a  painter  must  modestly  sit  and 
breathe  away  in  agony  the  edge  and  soul  of  his  inspiration, 
waiting  for  the  sluggish  calls  of  the  civil.  Though  the 
toil,  the  privations,  and  expense  of  travelling  to  these 
remote  parts  of  the  world  to  get  subjects  for  my  pencil 
place  almost  insurmountable,  and  sometimes  painful  ob- 
stacles before  me,  vot  I  am  encouraged  by  the  continual 
conviction  that  I  ai  nrac^.ung  in  the  true  School  of  the  Arts ; 
and  that,  though  T  tihould  get  as  pon  as  Lazarus,  T  should 
deem  myself  rich  ;  ;  models  and  studies  for  the  future  oc- 
cupation of  my  lile.  Of  this  much  I  am  certain,  that 
amongst  these  sons  of  the  forest,  where  are  continually 
repeated  the  feats  and  gambols  equal  to  tlio  Grecian  Gaines, 
I  have  learned  more  of  the  essential  parts  of  my  art  in  Jaa 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


455 


three  last  years,  than  I  could  have  learned  in  New  York  iu 
a  life-time. 

The  landscape  scenes  of  these  wild  and  beautiful 
regions,  are,  of  themselves,  a  rich  reward  for  the 
traveller  who  can  place  them  in  his  portfolio ;  and  being 
myself  *  the  only  one  accompanying  the  dragoons  for 
scientific  purposes,  the  .3  will  be  an  additional  pleasure  to 
be  derived  from  those  pursuits.  The  regiment  v  C  eight 
hundred  men,  with  whom  I  am  to  travel,  will  ..e  an 
efiective  force,  and  a  perfect  protection  against  any  attacks 
that  will  ever  be  made  by  Indians.  It  is  composed  princi- 
pally of  young  men  of  respectable  families,  who  would 
act,  on  all  occasions,  from  feelings  of  pride  and  honor  in 
addition  to  those  of  the  common  soldier. 

The  day  before  yesterday  the  regiment  of  dragoons  and 
the  7th  regiment  of  infantry,  stationed  here,  were  reviewed 
by  General  Leavenworth,  who  has  lately  arrived  at  this 
post,  superseding  Colonel  Arbuckle  in  the  command. 

Both  regiments  were  drawn  up  in  battle  array,  in  fatigue 
dress,  and  passing  through  a  number  of  the  manoeuvres  of 
battle,  of  charge  and  repulse,  &c.,  presenting  a  novel  and 
thrilling  scene  in  the  prairie,  to  the  thousands  of  Indians 
and  others  who  had  assembled  to  witness  the  display.  The 
proud  and  manly  deportment  of  these  young  men  remind 
one  forcibly  of  a  regiment  of  Independent  Volunteers,  and 
the  horses  have  a  most  beautiful  appearance  from  the 
arrangement  of  colors.  Each  company  of  horses  has  been 
selected  of  one  color  entire.  There  is  a  company  of  hays,  a 
company  o^  blades,  one  oivjhites,  one  oi  sorrels,  one  of  greys, 
one  of  cream  color,  &c.,  &c.,  which  render  the  companies 
distinct,  and  the  effect  exceedingly  pleasing.  This  regi- 
ment goes  out  under  the  command  of  Colonel  Dodge,  and 
from  his  well  testified  qualifications,  and  from  the  beautiful 
equipment  of  the  command,  there  can  be  little  doubt  but 
that  they  will  do  credit  to  themselves  and  an  honor  to 
their  country ;  so  far  as  honors  can  be  gained  and  laurels 
can  be  plucked  from  their  wild  stems  in  a  savage  country. 


456 


LETTERS   /iND  NOTES  ON  THB 


The  object  of  this  summer's  campaign  seems  to  be  to  cnl- 
tivate  an  acquaintance  with  the  Pawnees  and  Camaachees. 
These  are  two  extensive  tribes  of  roaming  Indians,  who 
from  their  extreme  ignorance  of  us,  have  not  yet  recog 
nized  the  United  States  in  treaty,  and  have  struck  frequent 
blows  on  our  frontiers  pnd  plundered  our  traders  who  are 
traversing  their  country.  For  this  I  cannot  so  much  blame 
them,  for  the  Spaniards  are  gradually  advancing  upon  them 
on  one  side,  and  the  Americans  on  the  other,  and  fast 
destroying  the  furs  and  game  of  their  country,  which  God 
gave  them  as  their  only  wealth  and  means  of  subsistence. 
This  movement  of  the  dragoons  seema  to  be  one  of  the  most 
humane  in  its  views,  and  I  heartily  hope  that  it  may  prove 
80  in  the  event,  as  well  for  our  own  sakes  as  for  that  of 
the  Indian.  I  can  see  no  reason  why  we  should  march 
upon  them  with  an  invading  army  carrying  with  it  the 
spirit-  of  chastisement.  The  object  of  Government  un- 
doubtedly is  to  effect  a  friendly  meeting  with  them,  that 
they  may  see  and  respect  us,  and  to  establish  something 
like  a  system  of  mutual  rights  with  them.  To  penetrate 
their  country  with  the  other  view,  that  of  chastising  them, 
even  with  five  times  the  number  that  are  now  going,  would 
be  entirely  futile,  and  perhaps  disaatroits  in  the  extreme. 
It  is  a  protty  thing  (and  perhaps  an  easy  one,  in  the  esti- 
mation of  the  world)  for  an  army  of  mounted  men  to  be 
gaily  prancing  over  the  boundless  green  fields  of  the  West, 
and  it  is  so  for  a  little  distance — but  it  would  be  well  that 
the  world  should  be  apprised  of  some  of  the  actual  diffi- 
culties that  oppose  themselves  to  the  success  of  such  a 
campaign,  that  they  may  not  censure  too  severely,  in  case 
this  command  should  fail  to  accomplish  the  objects  for 
which  they  were  organized. 

In  the  first  place,  from  the  great  difficulty  of  organiziug 
and  equipping,  these  troops  are  starting  too  late  in  the 
season  for  their  summer's  campaign,  by  two  months.  The 
journey  which  they  have  to  perform  is  a  very  long  one, 
and  although  the  first  part  of  it  will  be  picturesque  and 


NORTH  AMEBICAN  INDIANS. 


467 


plea  iing,  the  after  part  of  it  will  be  tiresome  and  fifttiguing 
ia  the  extreme.  As  they  advance  to  the  West,  the  grass 
(and  consequently  the  game)  will  be  gradually  diminishing, 
and  water  in  many  parts  of  the  country  not  to  be  found. 

As  the  troops  will  be  obliged  to  subsist  themselves  a 
great  part  of  the  way,  it  will  be  extremely  difficult  to  do  it 
under  such  circumstances,  and  at  the  same  time  hold 
themselves  in  readiness,  with  half>famished  horses  and  men 
nearly  exhausted,  to  contend  with  a  numerous  enemy  who 
are  at  home,  on  the  ground  on  which  they  were  born,  with 
horses  fresh  and  ready  for  action.    It  is  not  probable, 
however,  that  the  Indians  will  venture  to  take  advantage 
of  such  circumstances;  but  I  am  inclined  to  think,  that 
the  expedition  will  be  more  likely  to  fail  from  another 
source :  it  is  my  opinion  that  the  appearance  of  so  large  a 
military  force  in  their  country,  will  alarm  the  Indians  to 
that  degree,  that  they  will  fly  with  their  families  to  their 
hiding-places  amongst  those  barren  deserts,  which  they 
themselves  can  reach  only  by  great  fatigue  and  extreme 
privation,  and  to  which  our  half-exhausted  troops  cannot 
possibly  follow  them.    From  these  haunts  their  warriors 
would  advance  and  annoy  the  regiment  as  much  as  they 
could,  by  striking  at  their  hunting  parties  and  cutting  off 
their  supplies.    To  attempt  to  pursue  them,  if  they  cannot 
be  called  to  a  council,  would  be  as  useless  as  to  follow  the 
wind ;  for  our  troops  in  such  a  case,  are  in  a  country  where 
they  are  obliged  to  subsist  themselves,  and  the  Indians 
being  on  fresh  horses,  with  a  supply  of  provisions,  would 
easily  drive  all  the  buflfaloes  ahead  of  them ;  and  endeavor, 
as  far  as  possible,  to  decoy  our  troops  into  the  barren  parts 
of  the  country,  where   they  could  not   find  means  of 
subsistencd. 

The  plan  designed  to  be  pursued,  and  the  only  one  that 
can  succeed,  is  to  send  runners  to  the  different  bands, 
explaining  the  friendly  intentions  of  our  Government,  and 
to  invite  them  to  a  meeting.  For  this  purpose  several 
Camanchee  and  Pawnee  prisoners  have  been  purchased 


Mi'' 


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11 


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1''  V.    •' 

t 

i 

■ 

i 

I 

i; 

f. 

I ; 


458 


LBTTERS  AND  NOTES. 


from  the  Osagea,  who  may  be  of  great  seTvico  ia  bri  ,^inff 
about  a  friendly  interview. 

I  ardently  hope  that  this  plan  may  succeed,  for  I  am 
antioipatiug  great  fatigue  and  privation  in  the  endeavor 
to  see  these  wild  tribes  togetlier  ;  that  I  may  be  enabled  to 
lay  before  the  world  a  just  estimate  of  their  mannc  and 
customs. 

I  hope  that  my  suggestions  may  not  be  truly  prophetic  • 
but  I  am  constrained  to  say,  that  I  doubt  very  much 
whether  ^  shall  see  anything  more  of  them  than  their 
trails,  and  the  sites  of  their  deserted  villages. 

Several  companies  have  already  started  from  this  place  • 
und  the  remamii.^  ones  vill  be  on  their  march  in  a  day  or 
two.  General  Leavenworth  will  accompany  them  two 
hundred  m  '  s,  to  the  mouth  of  False  Washita,  and  I  shall 
bo  attached  to  his  staff.  Incidents  which  may  occur,  I 
shall  record.    Adieu. 

NoTB — In  tho  mcnntime,  as  it  may  bo  long  berore  I  can  write  again, 
I  send  you  Fonio  accoii  it  of  the  Osages ;  whom  I  have  been  visiting 
nnd  paintini^;  during  the  two  mouths  I  have  beea  staying  here. 


LETTER  No.  XXXVEI. 
FORT  GIBSON,  ARKANSAS. 

Nearly  two  months  have  elapsed  since  I  arrived  at  this 
post,  on  my  way  up  the  river  from  the  Mississippi,  to  join 
the  regiment  of  dragoons  on  their  campaign  into  the 
country  of  the  Camanchees  and  Pawnee  Picta;  during 
which  time,  I  have  been  industriously  at  work  with  my 
brush  and  my  pen,  recording  the  looks  and  the  deeds  of 
the  Osages,  who  inhabit  the  country  on  the  North  and  the 
"West  of  this. 

The  Osage,  or  (as  they  call  themselves)  Wa-saw-see,  are  a 
tribe  of  about  five  thousand  two  hundred  in  numbers, 
inhabiting  and  hunting  over  the  head-waters  of  the 
Arkansas,  and  Neosho  or  Grand  Rivers.  Their  present 
residence  is  about  seven  hundred  miles  West  of  the 
Mississippi  river ;  in  three  villages,  constituted  of  wigwams, 
built  of  barks  and  flags  or  reeds.    One  of  these  villages  is 

(469) 


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IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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12.5 


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7 


Hiotographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


23  WIST  MAIN  STRUT 

WEBSTIR.N.Y    14SB0 

(716)  872-4503 


460 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


Within  forty  miles  of  this  Fort ;  another  within  sixty,  and 
the  third  about  eighty  miles.  Their  chief  place  of  trade  ia 
with  the  sutlers  at  this  post;  and  there  are  constantly  more 
or  less  of  them  encamped  about  the  garrison. 

The  Osages  may  justly  be  said  to  be  the  tallest  race  of 
men  in  North  America,  either  of  red  or  white  skins ;  there 
being  very  few  indeed  of  the  men,  at  their  full  growth,  who 
are  less  than  aix  feet  in  stature,  and  very  many  of  them  siz 
and  a  hal^  and  others  seven  feet.  They  are  at  the  same 
time  well-proportioned  in  their  limbs,  and  good-looking; 
being  rather  narrow  in  the  shoulders,  and  like  moat  dl 
very  tall  people,  a  little  inclined  to  stoop ;  not  throwing  the 
chest  out,  and  the  head  and  shoulders  back,  quite  as  much 
aa  the  Crows  and  Mandans,  and  other  tribes  amongst  which 
I  have  been  fiinuliar.  Their  movement  ia  graceful  and 
quick ;  and  in  war  and  the  chase,  I  think  they  are  equal  to 
any  of  the  tribes  about  them. 

This  tribe,  though  living,  as  they  long  have,  near  the 
borders  of  the  civilized  community,  have  studiously  re- 
jected everything  of  civilized  customs ;  and  are  uniformly 
dressed  in  skins  of  their  own  dressing — strictly  maintain- 
ing their  primitive  looks  and  manners,  without  the  slightest 
appearance  of  innovations,  excepting  in  the  blankets,  which 
have  been  recently  admitted  to  their  use  instead  of  the 
buffalo  robes,  whioh  are  now  getting  scarce  amongst  them. 

The  Osages  are  one  of  the  tribes  who  shave  the  head,  as 
I  have  before  described  when  speaking  of  the  Fawuees  and 
Konzas,  and  they  decorate  and  paint  it  with  great  care, 
and  considerable  taste.  There  is  a  peculiarity  in  the  heads 
of  these  people  which  is  very  striking  to  the  eye  of  a 
traveller ;  and  which  I  find  is  produced  by  artificial  means 
in  infimcy.  Their  children,  like  those  of  all  the  other  tribes, 
are  carried  on  a  board,  and  sluog  upon  the  mother's  back. 
The  infants  are  lashed  to  the  boards,  with  their  backs  upon 
them,  apparently  in  a  very  uncomfortable  condition ;  and 
with  the  Osages,  the  head  of  the  child  bound  down  so  tight 
to  the  board,  as  to  force  in  the  occipital  bone,  and  create 


)TSS  ON  THS 


NORTH  AMERICAS'  UtmASBl 


4Sl 


as  they  long  have,  near  the 
munity,  have  studiously  re- 
.  customs ;  and  are  uniformly 
I  dressing — strictly  maintain- 
manners,  without  the  slightest 
septing  in  the  blankets,  which 

to  their  use  instead  of  the 
getting  scarce  amongst  them, 
tribes  who  shave  the  head,  aa 

speaking  of  the  Pawnees  and 
and  paint  it  with  great  care, 
re  is  a  peculiarity  in  the  heads 
ery  striking  to  the  eye  of  a 
s  produced  by  artificial  means 
ke  those  of  all  the  other  tribes, 
slung  upon  the  mother's  back. 

boards,  with  their  backs  upon 
uncomfortable  condition;  and 
the  child  bound  down  so  tight 
the  occipital  bone,  and  create 


an  unnatural  deficiency  on  the  back  part,  and  consequently 
more  than  a  natural  elevation  of  the  top  of  the  head.  This 
custom,  they  told  me  they  practised,  becauise  "  it  pressed 
out  a  bold  and  manly  appearance  in  front."  This  I  think 
from  observation,  to  be  rather  imaginary  than  real,  as  I 
cannot  see  that  they  exhibit  any  extraordinary  development 
in  front ;  though  they  evidently  shew  a  striking  deficiency 
on  the  back  part,  and  also  an  unnatural  elevation  on  the 
top  of  the  head,  which  is,  no  doubt,  produced  by  this 
custom.  The  difference  between  this  mode  and  the  one 
practiced  by  the  Flat-head  Indians  beyond  the  Rooky  Moun- 
tains, consists  in  this,  that  the  Flat-heads  press  the  head 
hetween  two  boards ;  the  one  pressing  the  frontal  bone  down, 
whilst  the  other  is  pressing  the  occipital  up,  producing  the 
most  frightful  deformity ;  whilst  the  Osages  merely  press 
the  occipital  in,  and  that  but  to  a  moderate  degree,  occasion- 
ing  but  a  slight,  and  in  many  cases,  almost  immaterial,  de- 
parture from  the  symmetry  of  nature. 

These  people,  like  all  those  tribes  who  shave  the  head, 
cut  and  slit  their  ears  very  much,  and  suspend  from  them 
great  quantities  of  wampum  and  tinsel  ornaments.  Their 
ncjks  are  generally  ornamented  also  with  a  profusion  of 
wampum  and  beads ;  and  as  they  live  in  a  warm  climate 
where  there  is  not  so  much  necessity  for  warm  olothingi 
as  amongst  the  more  Northern  tribes,  of  whom  I  have  been 
heretofore  speaking,  their  shoulders,  arms,  and  chests  are 
generally  naked,  and  painted  in  a  great  variety  of  pictur- 
esque ways,  with  silver  bands  on  the  wrists,  and  oftentimes 
a  profusion  of  rings  on  the  fingers. 

The  head-chief  of  the  Osages  at  this  time,  is  a  young 
man  by  the  name  of  Clermont,  the  son  of  a  very  distin- 
guished chief  of  that  name,  who  recently  died ;  leaving  his 
son  his  successor,  with  the  consent  of  the  tribe.  I  painted 
the  portrait  of  this  chief  at  full  length,  in  a  beautiful  dress, 
his  leggings  fringed  with  scalp-locks,  in  his  hand  his 
favorite  and  valued  war-club. 

By  his  side  I  have  painted  also  at  full  length,  his  wife 


■^.■^'-fir^f^- :-.  ,-ji 


462 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THB 


and  child.  She  was  richly  dressed  in  costly  clothes  < 
civilized  manufacture,  which  is  almost  a  solitary  instan 
amongst  the  Osages,  who  so  studiously  reject  every  luxu; 
and  every  custom  of  civilized  people ;  and  amongst  tho£ 
the  use  of  whisky,  which  is  on  all  sides  tendered  to  them- 
but  almost  uniformly  rejected  1  This  is  an  unusual  ai 
unaccountable  thing,  unless  the  influence  which  the  m 
fiionary  and  teachers  have  exercised  over  them,  has  indue 
them  to  abandon  the  pernicious  and  destructive  habit 
drinking  to  excess.  From  what  I  can  learn,  the  Osag 
were  fond  of  whisky ;  and  like  all  other  tribes  who  ha 
had  the  opportunity,  were  in  the  habit  of  using  it  to  exce 

Several  very  good  and  exemplary  men  have  been  for  yet 
past  exerting  their  greatest  efforts,  with  those  of  their  fan 
lies,  amongst  these  people ;  having  established  schools  a 
agricultural  experiments  amongst  them.  And  I  am  fu 
of  the  opinion,  that  this  decided  anomaly  in  the  Indi 
country,  has  resulted  from  the  devoted  exertions  of  th( 
pious  and  good  men. 

Amongst  the  chiefs  of  the  Osages,  and  probably  the  ne 
in  authority  and  respect  in  the  tribe,  is  Tchong-tas-sab-l 
(the  black  dog),  whom  I  painted  also  at  full  length,  with 
pipe  in  one  hand,  and  his  tomahawk  in  the  other ;  his  he 
shaved,  and  ornamented  with  a  beautiful  crest  of  dee 
hair,  and  his  body  wrapped  in  a  huge  mackinaw  blanke 

This  dignitary,  who  is  blind  in  the  left  eye,  is  one  of 
most  conspicuous  characters  in  all  this  country,  rende: 
80  by  his  huge  size  (standing  in  height  and  in  girth,  ab( 
all  of  his  tribe),  as  well  as  by  his  extraordinary  life. 
Black  Dog  is  familiarly  known  to  all  the  officers  of 
army,  as  well  as  to  Traders  and  all  other  white  men,  t 
have  traversed  these  regions,  and  I  believe,  admired  i 
respected  by  most  of  them. 

His  height,  I  think  is  seven    . .  c ;  and  his  limbs  full 
rather  fat,  making  his  bulk  formidable,  and  weighing  ] 
haps,  some  two  hundred  and  fifty  or  three  hundred  poui 
This  man  is  chief  of  one  of  the  three  bands  of  the  Osai 


>TES  ON  THE 

essed  in  costly  clothes  of 
I  almost  a  solitary  instance 
idiously  reject  every  luxury 
>eople ;  and  amongst  those, 
ill  sides  tendered  to  them — 
This  is  an  unusual  and 
e  influence  which  the  mis- 
ised  over  them,  has  induced 
18  and  destructive  habit  of 
lat  I  can  learn,  the  Osages 
all  other  tribes  who  have 
3  habit  of  using  it  to  excess, 
lary  men  have  been  for  years 
rts,  with  those  of  their  fami- 
ving  established  schools  and 
igst  them.    And  T  am  fully 
led  anomaly  in  the  Indian 
devoted  exertions  of  these 


lages,  and  probably  the  next 

I  tribe,  is  Tchong-tas-sab-bee 

1  also  at  full  length,  with  his 

ihawk  in  the  other ;  his  head 

a  beautiful  crest  of  deers' 

a  huge  mackinaw  blanket. 

in  the  left  eye,  is  one  of  the 

n  all  this  country,  rendered 

n  height  and  in  girth,  above 

his  extraordinary  life.    The 

^n  to  all  the  officers  of  the 

id  all  other  white  men,  who 

and  I  believe,  admired  and 


.  ..c;  and  his  limbs  full  and 
•rmidable,  and  weighing  per- 
.fty  or  three  hundred  pounds 
3  three  bands  of  the  Osages ; 


f 


M 


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^-: 


^ 


-iu 


NOBTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


463 


divided  as  they  are  into  three  families  occupying,  aa  I 
before  said,  three  villages,  denominated,  "  Clermont's  Vil- 
lage," ••  Black  Dog's  Village,"  and  "  White  Hair's  Yillage." 
The  White  Hair  is  another  distinguished  leader  of  the 
Osages;  and  some  have  awarded  him  the  title  of  Head 
Chief;  but  in  the  jealous  feelings  of  rivalry  which  have 
long  agitated  this  tribe,  and  some  times,  even  endangered 
its  peace,  I  believe  it  has  been  generally  agreed  that  his 
claims  are  third  in  the  tribe ;  though  he  justly  claims  the 
title  of  a  chief,  and  a  very  gallant  and  excellent  man. 
The  portrait  of  this  man,  I  regret  to  say,  I  did  not  get. 

Amongst  the  many  brave  and  distinguished  warriors  of 
the  tribe,  one  of  the  most  noted  and  respected  is  Tal-lee, 
painted  at  full  length,  with  his  lance  ill  his  hand — his  shield 
on  his  arm,  and  his  bow  and  quiver  slung  upon  his  back. 

If  I  had  the  time,  at  present,  I  would  unfold  to  the  reader 
some  of  the  pleasing  and  extraordinary  incidents  of  this  gal- 
lant fellow's  military  life ;  and  also  the  anecdotes  that  have 
grown  out  of  the  familiar  life  I  have  led  with  this  hand- 
some and  high-minded  gentleman  of  the  wild  woods  and 
prairies.  Of  the  Black  Dog  I  should  say  more  also ;  and  most 
assuredly  will  not  fail  to  do  justice  to  these  extraordinary 
men,  when  I  have  leisure  to  write  off  all  my  notes,  and 
turn  biographer.  At  present,  I  shake  hands  with  two 
noblemen,  and  bid  them  good-bye;  promising  them,  that 
if  I  never  get  time  to  say  more  of  their  virtues — I  shall 
say  nothing  against  them. 

The  Osages  have  been  formerly,  and  until  quite  recently, 
a  powerful  and  warlike  tribe;  carrying  their  arms  fearlessly 
through  all  these  realms ;  and  ready  to  cope  with  foes  of  any 
kind  that  they  were  liable  to  meet  At  present  the  case  is 
quite  different;  they  have  been  repeatedly  moved  and 
jostled  along,  from  the  head  waters  of  the  White  river,  and 
even  from  the  shores  of  the  Mississippi,  to  where  they  now 
are ;  and  reduced  by  every  war  and  every  move.  The  small- 
pox has  taken  its  share  of  them  at  two  or  three  different 
times ;  and  the  Konzas,  as  they  are  now  called,  having  been 


u 


464 


LXTTBBS  AND  NOTES. 


ft  part  of  the  Osages,  and  receded  from  them,  impaired  their 
strength;  and  have  at  last  helped  to  leaaen  the  number  of 
their  warriors :  so  that  their  decline  has  been  very  rapid, 
bringing  them  to  the  more  handM  that  now  exists  of  them ; 
though  still  preserving  their  valor  as  warriors,  which  they 
are  continually  shewing  off  as  bravely  and  as  professionally 
as  they  can,  with  the  Pawnees  and  the  Camanchees,  with 
whom  they  are  waging  incessant  war ;  although  they  are 
the  principal  sufferers  in  those  scones  which  they  fearlessly 
persist  in,  as  if  they  were  actually  bent  on  their  self-destruc- 
tion. Very  great  efforts  have  been,  and  are  being  made 
amongst  these  people  to  civilize  and  christianize  them;  and 
still  I  believe  with  but  little  success.  Agriculture  they 
have  caught  but  little  of;  and  of  religion  and  civilization  stiU 
less.  One  good  result  has,  however,  been  produced  by  these 
faithful  laborers,  which  is  the  conversion  of  these  people 
to  temperance;  which  I  consider  the  first  important  step 
towards  other  results,  and  which  of  itself  is  an  achievement 
that  redounds  much  to  the  credit  and  humanity  of  those 
whose  lives  have  been  devoted  to  its  accomplishment. 

Here  I  must  leave  the  Osages  for  the  present,  but  not  the 
reader,  whose  company  I  still  hope  to  have  awhile  longer, 
to  hear  how  I  get  along  amongst  the  wild  and  untried 
scenes,  that  I  am  to  start  upon  in  a  few  days,  in  company 
with  the  first  regiment  of  dragoons,  in  the  first  grand  civilized 
foray,  into  the  country  of  the  wild  and  warlike  Camanchees. 


LETTER  No.  XXXIX. 


MOUTH  OF  FALSE  WASHITA,  SED  RIVER. 

Under  the  protection  of  the  United  States'  dragoons,  I 
arrived  at  this  place  three  days  since,  on  my  way  again  in 
search  of  the  "  Far  "West."  How  far  I  may  this  time  follow 
the  flying  phantom,  is  uncertain.  I  am  already  again  in 
the  land  of  the  huffahea  and  ihQ  fleet-hounding  antelopes;  and 
I  anticipate,  with  many  other  beating  hearts,  rare  sport  amd 
amusement  amongst  the  wild  herds  ere  long. 

We  shall  start  from  hence  in  a  few  days,  and  other 
epistles  I  may  occasionally  drop  you  from  terra  incognita, 
for  such  is  the  great  expanse  of  country  which  we  expect 
to  range  over ;  and  names  we  are  to  give,  and  country  to 
explore,  as  far  as  we  proceed.  We  are  at  this  place,  on 
the  banks  of  the  Red  River,  having  Texas  under  our  eye 
on  the  opposite  bank.    Our  encampment  is  on  the  point  of 

30  (465) 


466 


LETTERS    AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


land  between  the  Red  and  False  "Washita  rivers,  at  thoip 
junction:  and  the  country  about  us  is  a  panorama  too  beau- 
tiful to  be  painted  with  a  pen ;  it  is,  like  most  of  the  country 
in  these  regions,  composed  of  prairie  and  timber,  alternating 
in  the  most  delightful  shapes  and  proportions  that  the  eye 
of  a  connoisseur  could  desire.  The  verdure  is  everywhere 
of  the  deepest  green,  and  the  plains  about  us  are  literally 
speckled  with  buffalo.  "We  are  distant  from  Fort  Gibson 
about  two  hundred  miles,  which  distance  we  accomplished 
in  ten  days.  " ' 

A  great  part  of  the  way,  the  country  is  prairie,  grace- 
fully undulating — well  watered,  and  continually  beautified 
by  copses  and  patches  of  timber.  On  our  way  my  attention 
was  rivetted  to  the  tops  of  some  of  the  prairie  l;>lu£&,  whose 
summits  I  approached  with  inexpressible  delight.  I  rode 
to  the  top  of  one  of  these  noble  mounds,  in  company  with 
my  friends,  Lieut.  Wheelock  and  Joseph  Chadwick,  where 
we  agreed  that  our  horses  instinctively  looked  and  admired. 
They  thought  not  of  the  rich  herbage  that  was  under  their 
feet,  but,  with  deep-drawn  sighs,  their  necks  were  loftily 
curved,  and  their  eyes  widely  stretched  over  the  landscape 
that  was  beneath  us.  From  this  elevated  spot,  the  horizon 
was  bounded  all  around  us  by  mountain  streaks  of  blue, 
softening  into  azure  as  they  vanished,  and  the  pictured 
vales  that  intermediate  lay,  were  deepening  into  green  as 
the  eye  was  returning  from  its  roamings.  Beneath  us,  and 
winding  through  the  waving  landscape  was  seen  with 
peculiar  effect,  the  "  bold  dragoons,"  marching  in  beautiful 
order  forming  a  train  of  a  mile  in  length.  Baggage  wag- 
ons and  Indians  (engages)  helped  to  lengthen  the  procession. 
From  the  point  where  we  stood,  the  line  was  seen  in 
miniature;  and  the  undulating  hills  over  which  it  was 
bending  its  way,  gave  it  the  appearance  of  a  huge  black 
snake,  gracefully  gliding  over  a  rich  carpet  of  green. 

This  picturesque  country  of  two  hundred  miles,  over 
which  we  have  passed,  belongs  to  the  Greeks  and  Choctaws, 


NOBTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


467 


and  affords  one  of  tbe  richest  and  most  desirable  oountrieB 
in  the  world  for  agricultural  pursuits.  .  -  ..'  •.  ♦ .  ■    j 

Scarcely  a  day  has  passed,  in  which  we  have  not  orossei 
oak  ridges,  of  several  miles  in  breadth,  with  a  sandy  soil 
and  scattering  timber;  where  the  ground  was  almost 
literally  covered  with  vines,  producing  the  greatest  profusion 
of  delicious  grapes,  of  five-eighths  of  an  inch  in  diameter, 
and  hanging  in  such  endless  clusters,  as  justly  to  entitle 
this  singular  and  solitary  wilderness  to  the  style  of  a  vine- 
yard (and  ready  for  the  vintage),  for  many  miles  together. 

The  next  hour  we  would  be  trailing  through  broad  and 
verdant  valleys  of  green  prairies,  into  which  we  had  de- 
scended ;  and  oftentimes  find  our  progress  completely 
arrested  by  hundreds  of  acres  of  small  plum-trees,  of  four 
or  six  feet  in  height;  so  closely  woven  and  interlocked 
together,  as  entirely  to  dispute  our  progress,  and  sending  us 
several  miles  around ;  when  every  bush  that  was  in  sight 
was  so  loaded  with  the  weight  of  its  delicious  wild  fruit, 
that  they  were  in  many  instances  literally  without  leaves  on 
their  branches,  and  bent  quite  to  the  ground.  Amongst 
these,  and  in  patches,  were  intervening  beds  of  wild  roses, 
wild  currants,  and  gooseberries.  And  underneath  and  about 
them,  and  occasionally  interlocked  with  them,  huge  masses 
of  the  prickly  pears,  and  beautiful  and  tempting  wild  flowers 
that  sweetened  the  atmosphere  above ;  whilst  an  occasional 
huge  yellow  rattlesnake,  or  a  copper-head,  could  be  seen 
gliding  over,  or  basking  across  their  vari-colored  tendrils 
and  leaves. 

On  the  eighth  day  of  our  march  we  met,  for  the  first  time, 
a  herd  of  buffaloes;  and  being  in  advance  of  the  command, 
in  company  with  General  Leavenworth,  Colonel  Dodge,  and 
several  other  officers,  we  all  had  an  opportunity  of  testing 
the  mettle  of  our  horses  and  our  oum  tact  at  the  wild  and 
spirited  death.  The  inspiration  of  chase  took  at  once,  and 
alike,  with  the  old  and  the  young ;  a  beautiful  plain  lay 
before  us,  and  we  all  gave  spur  for  the  onset.  General 
Leavenworth  and  Colonel  Dodge,  with  their  pistols,  gal- 


r 


E'  i 


403 


LETTERS  AND  XOTES  OX  THE 


Inntly  and  handsomely  belabored  a  fat  cow,  and  were  in 
together  at  the  death.  I  was  not  quite  so  fortunate  in  my 
selection,  for  the  one  which  I  saw  fit  to  gallant  over  the 
plain  alone,  of  the  same  sex,  younger  and  coy,  led  me  a 
hard  chase,  and  for  a  long  time,  disputed  my  near  approach; 
when,  at  length,  the  full  speed  o(  my  horse  forced  us  to  close 
company,  and  she  desperately  assaulted  his  shoulders  with 
her  horns.  My  gun  was  aimed,  but  missing  its  fire,  the 
muzzle  entangled  in  her  mane,  and  was  instantly  broken  in 
two  in  my  hands,  and  fell  over  my  shoulder.  My  pistols 
were  then  brought  to  bear  upon  her ;  and  though  severely 
wounded,  she  succeeded  in  reaching  the  thicket,  and  left 
me  without  *'  a  deed  of  chivalry  to  boast." — Since  that  day, 
the  Indian  hunters  in  our  charge  have  supplied  us  abun- 
dantly with  bufl^lo  meat ;  and  report  says,  that  the  country 
ahead  of  \is  will  afford  us  continual  sport,  and  an  abundant 
supply. 

We  are  halting  here  for  a  few  days  to  recruit  horses  and 
men,  afler  which  the  line  of  march  will  be  resumed;  and  if 
the  Pawnees  are  as  near  to  us  as  we  have  strong  reason  to 
believe,  from  their  recent  trails  and  fires,  it  is  probable  that 
within  a  few  days  we  shall  "  thrash"  them  or  "get  thrashed ;^^ 
unless  through  their  sagacity  and  fear,  they  elude  our  search 
by  flying  before  us  to  their  hiding-places. 

The  prevailing  policy  amongst  the  officers  seems  to  be, 
that  of  flogging  them  first,  and  then  establishing  a  treaty  of 
peace.  If  this  plan  were  morally  right,  I  do  not  think  it 
practicable ;  for,  as  enemies,  I  do  not  believe  they  will  stand  to 
meet  us ;  but  as  friends,  1  think  we  may  bring  them  to  a  talk, 
if  the  proper  means  are  adopted.  We  are  here  encamped 
on  the  ground  on  which  Judge  Martin  and  servant  were 
butchered,  and  his  son  kidnapped  by  the  Pawnees  or 
Oamanchees,  but  a  few  weeks  since ;  and  the  moment  they 
discover  us  in  a  largo  body,  they  will  presume  that  we  are 
relentlessly  seeking  for  revenge,  and  they  will  probably  be 
very  shy  of  our  approach.  We  are  over  the  Washita — the 
"  Bubieon  is  passed."    We  are  invaders  of  a  sacred  soil.   We 


NORTH  AMERICAN   INDIANS. 


469 


are  carrying  war  in  our  front,  and  "  we  shall  soon  «m,  what 
we  shall  see." 

The  cruel  fate  of  Judge  Martin  and  family  has  been  pub- 
lished in  the  papers ;  and  it  belongs  to  the  regiment  of  dra- 
goons to  demand  the  surrender  of  the  murderers,  and  get  for 
the  information  of  the  world,  some  authentic  account  of  the 
mode  in  which  this  horrid  outrage  was  committed. 

Judge  Martin  was  a  very  respectable  and  independent  man, 
living  on  the  lower  part  of  the  Bed  Biver,  and  in  the  habit 
of  taking  his  children  and  a  couple  of  black  men-servants 
with  him,  and  a  tent  to  live  in,  every  summer,  into  these 
wild  regions;  where  he  pitched  it  upon  the  prairie, and  spent 
several  months  in  killing  bu£&loes  and  other  wild  game,  for 
his  own  private  amusement  The  news  came  to  Fort  Gibson 
but  a  few  weeks  before  we  started,  that  he  had  been  set  upon 
by  a  party  of  Indians  and  destroyed.  A  detachment  of 
troops  was  speedily  sent  to  the  spot,  where  they  found  his 
body  horridly  mangled,  and  also  of  one  of  his  negroes ;  and 
it  is  supposed  that  his  son,  a  fine  boy  of  nine  years  of  age, 
has  been  taken  home  to  their  villages  by  them ;  where  they 
still  retain  him  and  where  it  is  our  hope  to  recover  him. 

Great  praise  is  due  to  General  Leavenworth  for  his  early 
and  unremitted  efforts  to  facilitate  the  movements  of  the 
regiment  of  dragoons,  by  opening  roads  from  Gibson  and 
Towson  to  this  place.  We  found  encamped  two  companies 
of  infantry  fiK}m  Fort  Towson,  who  will  follow  in  the  rear 
of  the  dragoons,  as  far  as  necessary,  transporting  with  wag- 
ons, stores  and  supplies,  aud  ready  at  the  same  time,  to 
co-operate  with  the  dragoons  in  case  of  necessity.  General 
Leavenworth  will  advance  with  us  from  this  post,  but  how 
far  he  may  proceed  is  uncertain.  We  know  not  exactly  the 
route  which  we  shall  take,  for  circumstances  alone  must 
decide  that  point  We  shall  probably  reach  Cantonment 
Leavenworth  in  the  fall ;  and  one  thing  is  certain  (in  the 
opinion  of  one  who  has  already  seen  something  of  Indian 
life  and  country),  we  shall  meet  with  many  severe  privations 


■iA 


i 


470 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES. 


and  roac'u  that  place  a  jaded  set  of  fellows,  and  as  ragged  as 
Jack  Falstaff's  famous  band. 

You  are  no  doubt  inquiring,  who  are  these  Pawnees 
Camanchees,  and  Arapahoes,  and  why  not  tell  us  all  about 
them?  Their  history,  numbers  and  limits  are  still  iu 
obscurity ;  nothing  definite  is  yet  known  of  them,  but  I 
hope  I  shall  soon  be  able  to  give  the  world  a  clue  to  them. 

If  my  life  and  health  are  preserved,  I  anticipate  many  a 
pleasing  scene  for  my  pencil,  as  well  as  incidents  worthy  of 
reciting  to  the  world,  which  I  shall  occasionally  do,  as 
opportunity  may  occur. 


LETTER  No.  XL. 
•MOUTH  OP  FALSE  WASHITA. 

Since  I  wrote  my  last  Letter  from  this  place,  I  have 
been  detained  here  with  the  rest  of  the  cavalcade  from  the 
extraordinary  sickness  which  is  afflicting  the  regiment,  and 
actually  threatening  to  arrest  its  progress. 

It  was,  as  I  wrote  the  other  day,  the  expectation  of  the 
commanding  officer  that  we  should  have  been  by  this  time 
recruited  and  recovered  from  sickness,  and  ready  to  start 
again  on  our  march ;  but  since  I  wrote,  nearly  one  half  of 
the  command,  and  included  amongst  them,  several  officers, 
with  General  Leavenworth,  have  been  thrown  upon  their 

(471) 


k 


M 


I 


Wit      i  ■         M  ■ 

».-. .  in)  I 


472 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


backs — with  the  prevailing  epidemic,  a  slow  and  distressing 
bilious  fever.  The  horses  of  the  regiment  are  also  sick, 
about  an  equal  proportion,  and  seemingly  suiTering  with 
the  same  disease.  They  are  daily  dying,  and  men  are 
falling  sick,  and  General  Leavenworth  has  ordered  Col. 
Dodge  to  select  all  the  men,  and  all  the  horses  that  are  able 
to  proceed,  and  be  oflF  to-morrow  at  nine  o'clock  upon  the 
march  towards  the  Camanchees,  in  hopes  thereby  to  pre- 
serve the  health  of  the  men,  and  make  the  most  rapid 
advance  towards  the  extreme  point  of  destination. 

General  Leavenworth  has  reserved  Col.  Kearney  to  take 
command  of  tho  remaining  troops  and  the  little  encamp, 
ment ;  and  promises  Col.  Dodge  that  he  will  himself  be  well 
cnoiigh  in  a  few  days  to  proceed  with  a  party  on  his  trail 
and  overtake  hira  at  the  Cross  Timbers. 

I  should  here  remark,  that  when  we  started  from  Fort 
Gibson,  the  regiment  of  dragoons,  instead  of  the  eight 
hundred  which  it  was  supposed  it  would  contain,  had  only 
organized  to  the  amount  of  four  hundred  men,  which  was 
the  number  that  started  from  that  place ;  and  being  at  this 
time  half  disabled,  furnishes  but  two  hundred  efifective  men 
to  penetrate  the  wild  and  untried  regions  of  the  hostile 
Camanchees.  All  has  been  bustle  and  confusion  this  day, 
packing  up  and  preparing  for  the  start  to-norrow  morning. 
My  canvass  and  painting  apparatus  are  prepared  and  ready 
for  the  packhorse,  which  carries  the  goods  afid  chattels  of 
my  esteemed  companion  Joseph  Chadwick  and  myself,  and 
we  shall  bo  thp  two  only  guests  of  the  procession,  and 
consequently  the  only  two  who  will  be  at  liberty  to  gallop 
about  where  we  please,  despite  military  rules  and  regula- 
tions, chasing  the  wild  herds,  or  seeking  our  own  amuse- 
ments in  any  such  modes  as  we  choose.  Mr.  Chadwick  is  a 
young  man  from  St.  Louis,  with  whom  I  have  been  long 
acquainted,  and  for  whom  I  have  the  highest  esteem.  He 
has  so  far  stood  by  me  as  a  faithful  friend,  and  I  rely 
implicitly  on  his  society  during  this  campaign  for  much 
good  company  and  amusement.    Though  I  have  an  order 


170KTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


473 


from  the  Secretary  at  "War  to  the  commanding  officer,  to 
protect  and  supply  me,  I  shall  ask  but  for  their  protection ; 
as  I  have,  with  my  friend  Joe,  laid  in  our  own  supplies  for 
the  campaign,  not  putting  the  Government  to  any  expense 
on  my  account,  in  pursuit  of  my  own  private  objects. 

I  am  writing  this  under  General  Leavenworth's  tent, 
where  he  has  generously  invited  me  to  take  up  my  quarters 
during  our  encampment  here,  and  he  promises  to  send  it 
by  his  express,  which  starts  to-morrow  with  a  mail  from 
this  to  Fort  Towson  on  the  frontier,  some  hundreds  of  miles 
below  this.  At  the  time  I  am  writing,  the  General  lies 
pallid  and  emaciated  before  me,  on  his  couch,  with  a 
dragoon  fanning  him,  while  he  breathes  forty  or  fifty 
breaths  a .  minute,  and  writhes  under  a  burning  fever, 
although  he  is  yet  unwilling  even  to  admit  that  he  is  sick. 

In  my  last  Letter  I  gave  a  brief  account  of  a  buffalo 
chase  where  General  Leavenworth  and  Col.  Dodge  took 
parts,  and  met  with  pleasing  success.  The  next  day,  while 
on  the  march,  and  a  mile  or  so  in  advance  of  the  regiment, 
and  two  days  before  we  reached  this  place.  General  Leaven- 
worth, Col.  Dodge,  Lieut.  Wheelock  and  myself  were  jog- 
ging along,  and  all  in  turn  complaining  of  the  lameness  of 
our  bones,  from  the  chase  on  the  former  day,  when  the 
General,  who  had  long  ago  had  his  surfeit  of  pleasure  of 
this  kind  on  the  Upper  Missouri,  remonstrated  against 
further  indulgence,  in  the  following  manner :  "  "Well,  Col- 
onel, this  running  for  buffaloes  is  bad  business  for  us — we 
are  getting  too  old,  and  should  leave  such  amusements  to 
the  young  men ;  I  have  had  enough  of  this  fun  in  my  life, 
and  I  am  determined  not  to  hazard  my  limbs  or  weary  my 
horse  any  more  with  it — it  is  the  height  of  folly  for  us,  but 
will  do  well  enough  for  boys."  Col.  Dodge  assented  at 
once  to  his  resolves,  and  approved  them ;  whilst  I,  who  had 
tried  it  in  every  form  (and  I  had  thought,  to  my  heart's 
content),  on  the  Upper  Missouri,  joined  my  assent  to  the 
folly  of  our  destroying  our  horses,  which  had  a  long  jour- 
ney to  perform,  and  agreed  that  I  would  join  no  more  in 


In 


M&k 


■fcU;iM'.t-' 


t 


474 


L£TT£BS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


the  buffalo  chase,  however  near  and  inviting  they  might 
come  to  me. 

In  the  midst  of  this  conversation,  and  these  mutual 
declarations  (or  rather  just  at  the  end  of  them),  as  we  were 
jogging  along  in  "Indian  file"  and  General  Leavenworth 
taking  the  lead,  and  just  rising  to  the  top  of  a  little  hill 
over  which  it  seems  he  had  had  an  instant  peep,  he  dropped 
himself  suddenly  upon  the  side  of  his  horse  and  wheeled 
back  1  and  rapidly  informed  us  with  an  agitated  whisper 
and  an  exceeding  game  contraction  of  the  eye,  that  a  snug 
little  band  of  buffaloes  were  quietly  grazing  just  over  the 
knoll  in  a  beautiful  meadow  for  running,  and  that  if  I 
would  take  to  the  left  1  and  Lieut.  Wheelock  to  the  right  I 
and  let  him  and  the  Colonel  dash  right  into  the  midst  of 
them  !  we  could  play  the  devil  with  them  1 1  one  half  of  this 
at  least  was  said  after  he  had  got  upon  his  feet  and  taken 
off  his  portmanteau  and  valise,  in  which  we  had  all  followed 
suit,  and  were  mounting  for  the  start  I  and  I  am  almost  sure 
'othing  else  was  said,  and  if  it  had  been  I  should  not  have 
heard  it,  for  I  was  too  far  offl  and  too  rapidly  dashing  over 
the  waving  grass!  and  too  eagerly  gazing  and  plying  the 
whip,  to  hear  or  to  see,  anything  but  the  trampling  hoofs ! 
and  the  blackened  throng  1  and  the  darting  steeds  1  and  the 
flashing  of  guns  I  until  I  had  crossed  the  beautiful  lawn  I 
and  the  limb  of  a  tree,  as  my  horse  was  darting  into  the 
timber,  had  crossed  my  horse's  back,  and  had  scraped  me 
into  the  grass,  from  which  I  soon  raised  my  head  I  and  all 
was  silent  1  and  all  out  of  sight  I  save  the  dragoon  regiment, 
which  I  could  sec  in  the  distance  creeping  along  on  the  top 
of  a  high  hill.  I  found  my  legs  under  me  in  a  few  momenta 
and  put  them  in  their  accustomed  positions,  none  of  which 
would,  for  some  time,  answer  the  usual  purpose ;  but  I  at 
last  got  them  to  work,  and  brought  "Charley"  out  of  the 
bushes,  where  he  had  "brought  up"  in  the  top  of  a  fallen 
tree,  without  damage. 

No  bufiGalo  was  harmed  in  this  furious  assault,  nor  horse 
nor  rider.    Col.  Dodge  and  Lieut.  Wheelock  had  joined  the 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


475 


regiment,  and  General  Leavenworth  joined  me,  with  too 
much  game  expression  yet  in  his  eye  to  allow  him  more 
time  than  to  say,  "  I'll  have  that  calf  before  I  quit  I "  and 
away  he  sailed  "  up  hill  and  down  dale,"  in  pursuit  of  a 
fine  calf  that  had  been  hidden  on  the  ground  during  the 
chase,  and  was  now  making  its  way  over  the  prairies  in 
pursuit  of  the  herd.  I  rode  to  the  top  of  a  little  hill  to 
witness  the  success  of  the  General's  second  effort,  and 
after  he  had  come  close  upon  the  little  affrighted  animal,  it 
dodged  about  in  such  a  manner  as  evidently  to  baffle  his 
skill,  and  perplex  his  horse,  which  at  last  fell  in  a  hole,  and 
both  were  instantly  out  of  my  sight.  I  ran  my  horse  with 
all  possible  speed  to  tlio  spot,  and  found  him  on  his  hands 
and  knees,  endeavoring  to  get  up.  I  dismounted  and 
raised  him  on  to  his  feet,  when  I  asked  him  if  he  was  hurt; 
to  which  he  replied  "  no,  but  I  might  have  been,"  when  he 
instantly  fainted,  and  I  laid  him  on  the  grass.  I  had  left 
,  my  canteen  with  my  portmanteau,  and  had  nothing  to  ad- 
minister to  him,  nor  was  there  water  near  us.  I  took  my 
lancet  from  my  pocket  and  was  tying  his  arm  to  open  a 
vein,  when  he  recovered,  and  objected  to  the  operation, 
assuring  me  that  he  was  not  in  the  least  injured.  I  caught 
his  horse  and  soon  got  him  mounted  again,  when  we  rode 
on  together,  and  after  two  or  three  hours  were  enabled  tp 
join  the  regiment. 

From  that  hour  to  the  present,  I  think  I  have  seen  a 
decided  change  in  the  General's  lace ;  he  has  looked  pale 
and  feeble,  and  been  continually  troubled  with  a  violent 
cough.  I  have  rode  by  the  side  of  him  from  day  to  day, 
and  he  several  times  told  me  that  he  was  fearful  he  was 
badly  hurt.  He  looks  very  feeble  now,  and  I  very  much 
fear  the  result  of  the  fever  that  has  set  in  upon  him. 

We  take  up  our  line  of  march  at  bugle-call  in  the 
morning,  and  it  may  be  a  long  time  before  I  can  send  a 
Letter  again,  as  there  are  no  post-offices  nor  mail  carriers 
in  the  country  where  we  are  now  going.  It  will  take  a 
great  deal  to  stop  me  from  writing,  however,  and  as  I  am 


rif* 


]  ufT] 


476 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES. 


now  to  enter  upon  one  of  the  most  interesting  parts  of  the 
Indian  country,  inasmucli  as  it  is  one  of  the  wUdest  and 
most  hostile,  I  shall  surely  scribble  an  occasional  Letter, 
if  I  have  to  carry  them  in  my  own  pocket,  and  bring  them 
in  with  me  on  my  retura 


LETTER  No.  XLT. 

GREAT  OAMANCHEE  VILLAGE, 

We  are  again  at  rest,  and  I  am  vritb  subjects  rude  and 
almost  infinite  around  me,  for  my  pen  and  my  brush.  The 
little  band  of  dragoons  are  encamped  by  a  fine  spring  of 
cool  water,  within  half  a  mile  of  the  principal  town  of  the 
Camanchees,  and  in  the  midst  of  a  bustling  and  wild  scene, 
I  assure  you ;  and  before  I  proceed  to  give  an  account  of 
things  and  scenes  that  are  about  me,  I  must  return  for  a 
few  moments  to  the  place  where  I  left  the  reader,  at  the 
encampment  at  False  Washita,  and  rapidly  travel  with  him 
over  the  country  that  lies  between  that  place  and  the 
Camanchee  Village,  where  I  am  now  writing. 

(477) 


478 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THK 


On  the  morning  after  my  last  Letter  was  written,  the 
sound  and  efficient  part  of  the  regiment  was  in  motion  at 
nine  o'clock.  And  with  them,  my  friend  "Joe"  and  I,  with 
our  provisions  laid  in,  and  all  snugly  arranged  on  our 
pack-horse,  which  we  alternately  led  or  drove  between  us. 

Our  course  was  about  due  West,  on  the  divide  between 
the  Washita  and  Red  Rivers,  with  our  feces  lookinfr  to- 
wards the  Rocky  Mountains.  The  country  over  which  wo 
passed  from  day  to  day,  was  inimitably  beautiful ;  beinw 
the  whole  way  one  continuous  prairie  of  green  fields,  with 
occasional  clusters  of  timber  and  shrubbery,  just  enough 
for  the  uses  of  cultivating-man,  and  for  the  pleasure  of  his 
eyes  to  dwell  upon.  The  regiment  was  rather  more  than 
half  on  the  move,  consisting  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  men 
instead  of  two  hundred  as  I  predicted  in  my  Letter  from 
that  place.  All  seemed  gay  and  buoyant  at  the  fresh  start 
which  all  trusted  was  to  liberate  us  from  the  fatal  miasma 
which  we  conceived  was  hovering  about  the  mouth  of  the 
False  Washita.  We  advanced  on  happily,  and  met  with 
no  trouble  until  the  second  night  of  our  encampment,  ia 
the  midst  of  which  we  were  thrown  into  "  pi"  (as  printers 
would  say,)  in  an  instant,  of  the  most  appalling  alarm  and 
confusion.  We  were  encamped  on  a  beautiful  prairie, 
where  we  were  every  hour  apprehensive  of  the  lurking 
enemy.  And  in  the  dead  of  night,  when  all  seemed  to  be 
sound  asleep  and  quiet,  the  instant  sound  and  flash  of  a  gun 
within  a  few  paces  of  us !  and  then  the  most  horrid  and 
frightful  groans  that  instantly  followed  it,  brought  us  all 
upon  our  hands  and  knees  in  an  instant,  and  our  affrighted 
horses  (which  were  breaking  their  lasos,)  in  full  speed  and 
fury  over  our  heads,  with  the  frightful  and  mingled  din  of 
snorting,  and  cries  of  "Indians I  Indians!  Pawnees!"  &c., 
which  rang  from  ever}^  part,  of  our  little  encampment!  In 
a  few  moments  the  excitement  was  chiefly  over,  and  silence 
restored ;  when  we  could  hear  the  trampling  hoofs  of  the 
horses,  which  were  making  off  in  all  directions  (not  unlike 
a  drove  of  swine  that  once  ran  into  the  sea,  when  they  were 


KORTQ  AMEBICAK  INDIANS. 


479 


possessed  of  devils) ;  and  leaving  but  now  and  then  an  indi- 
vidual quadruped  hanging  at  its  stake  within  our  little 
camp.  The  mode  of  our  encampment  was,  uniformly  in 
four  lines,  forming  a  square  of  fifteen  or  twenty  rods  in 
diameter.  Upon  these  lines  our  saddles  and  packs  were  all 
laid,  at  the  distance  of  five  feet  from  each  other ;  and  each 
man,  after  grazing  his  horse,  had  it  fastened  with  a  rope  or 
laso,  to  a  stake  driven  in  the  ground  at  a  little  distance 
from  his  feet;  thus  enclosing  the  horses  all  within  the 
square,  for  the  convenience  of  securing  them  in  case  of 
attack  or  alarm.  In  this  way  we  laid  encamped,  when  we 
were  awakened  by  the  alarm  that  I  have  just  mentioned ; 
and  our  horses  afirighted,  dashed  out  of  the  camp,  and  over 
the  heads  of  their  masters  in  the  desperate  "  StampedoP 

After  an  instant  preparation  for  battle,  and  a  little 
recovery  from  the  fright,  which  was  soon  effected  by  wait- 
ing a  few  momenta  in  vain,  for  the  enemy  to  come  on ; — a 
general  explanation  took  place,  which  brought  all  to  our 
legs  again,  and  convinced  us  that  there  was  no  decided 
obstacle,  as  yet,  to  our  reaching  the  Camanchee  towns ;  and 
after  that,  *'  sweet  home,"  and  the  arms  of  our  wives  and 
dear  little  children,  provided  we  could  ever  overtake  and 
recover  our  horses,  which  had  swept  off  in  fifty  directions, 
and  with  impetus  enough  to  ensure  us  employment  for  a 
day  or  two  to  come. 

At  the  proper  moment  for  it  to  be  made,  there  was  a 
general  inquiry  for  the  cause  of  this  real  misfortune,  when 
it  was  ascertained  to  have  originated  in  the  following 
manner.  A  "  raw  recruit,"  who  was  standing  as  one  of  the 
sentinels  on  that  night,  saw,  as  he  says  "he  supposed,"  an 
Indian  creeping  out  of  a  bunch  of  bushes  a  few  paces  in 
front  of  him,  upon  whom  he  levelled  his  rifle ;  and  as  the 
poor  creature  did  not  ** advance  and  give  the  countersign^^  at 
bis  call,  nor  any  answer  at  all,  he  "let  off  I"  and  popped  a 
bullet  through  the  heart  of  a  poor  dragoon  horse,  which 
had  strayed  away  on  the  night  before,  and  had  faithfully 
followed  our  trail  all  the  day,  and  was  now,  with  a  beastly 


\^uiM 


t-j 


480 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


misgiving,  coming  up,  and  slowly  poking  through  a  little 
thicket  of  buahea  into  camp,  to  join  its  comrades,  in  servi- 
tude again ! 

The  sudden  shock  of  a  gun,  and  the  most  appalling 
gro;  xs  of  this  poor  dying  animal,  in  the  dead  of  night,  and 
BO  close  upon  the  heels  of  sweet  sleep,  created  a  long  vibra- 
tion of  nerves,  and  a  day  of  great  perplexity  and  toil  which 
followed,  as  we  had  to  retrace  our  steps  twenty  miles  or 
more,  in  pursuit  of  affrighted  horses;  of  which  some  fifteen 
or  twenty  took  up  wild  and  free  life  upon  the  prairies,  to 
which  they  were  abandoned,  as  they  could  not  be  found. 
After  a  detention  of  two  days  in  consequence  of  this 
disaster,  we  took  up  the  line  of  march  again,  and  pursued 
our  course  with  vigor  and  success,  over  a  continuation  of 
green  fields,  enamelled  with  wild  flowers,  and  pleasingly 
relieved  with  patches  and  groves  of  timber. 

On  the  fourth  day  of  our  march,  we  discovered  many 
fresh  signs  of  buffaloes;  and  at  last  immense  herds  of  them 
grazing  on  the  distant  hills.  Indian  trails  were  daily 
growing  fresh,  and  their  smokes  were  seen  in  various  direc- 
tions ahead  of  us.  And  on  the  same  day  at  noon,  we  dis- 
covered a  large  party  at  several  miles  distance,  sitting  on 
their  horses  and  looking  at  us.  From  the  glistening  of  the 
blades  of  their  lances,  which  were  blazing  as  they  turned 
them  in  the  sun,  it  was  at  first  thought  that  they  were  Mexi- 
can cavalry,  who  might  have  been  apprized  of  our  approach 
into  their  country,  and  had  advanced  to  contest  the  point 
with  us.  On  drawing  a  little  nearer,  however,  and  scanning 
them  closer  with  our  spy -glasses,  they  were  soon  ascertained 
to  be  a  war-party  of  Camanchees,  on  the  look  out  for  their 
enemies. 

The  regiment  was  called  to  a  halt,  and  th^  requisite  pre- 
parations made  and  orders  issued,  we  advanced  in  a  direct 
line  towards  them  until  we  had  approached  to  within  two 
or  three  miles  of  them,  when  they  suddenly  disappeared 
over  the  hill,  and  soon  after  shewed  themselves  on  another 
mound  farther  off  and  in  a  different  direction.    The  course 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


481 


of  the  regiment  was  then  changed,  and  another  advance 
towards  them  was  commenced,  and  as  before  they  disap- 
peared and  shewed  themselves  in  another  direction.  After 
several  such  efforts,  which  proved  ineffectual.  Col.  Dodge 
ordered  the  command  to  halt,  while  he  rode  forward  with 
a  few  of  his  staff^  and  an  ensign  carrying  a  white  flag.  I 
joined  this  advance,  and  the  Indians  stood  their  ground  until 
wo  had  come  within  half  a  mile  of  them,  and  could  dis- 
tinctly  observe  all  their  numbers  and  movements.  We  then 
came  to  a  halt,  and  the  white  flag  was  sent  a  little  in  ad- 
vance, and  waved  as  a  signal  for  them  to  approach ;  at  which 
one  of  their  party  galloped  out  in  advance  of  the  war-party, 
on  a  milk-white  horse,  carrying  a  piece  of  white  buffiilo 
skin  on  the  point  of  his  long  lance  in  reply  to  our  flag. 

This  moment  was  the  commencement  of  one  of  the  most 
thrilling  and  beautiful  scenes  I  ever  witnessed.  All  eyes, 
both  from  his  own  party  and  ours,  were  fixed  upon  the 
manoeuvres  of  this  gallant  little  fellow,  and  he  well  knew  it. 

The  distance  between  the  two  parties  was  perhaps  half  a 
mile,  and  that  a  beautiful  and  gently  sloping  prairie ;  over 
which  he  was  for  the  space  of  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  reining 
and  spurring  his  maddened  hone,  and  gradually  approaching 
us  by  tacking  to  the  right  and  the  left,  like  a  vessel  beating 
against  the  wind.  He  at  length  came  prancing  and  leaping 
along  until  he  met  the  flag  of  the  regiment,  when  he  leaned 
his  spear  against  it,  looking  the  bearer  full  in  the  face,  when 
he  wheeled  his  horse,  and  dashed  up  to  Col.  Dodge,  with 
his  extended  hand,  which  was  instantly  grasped  and  shaken. 

We  all  had  him  by  the  hand  in  a  moment,  and  the  rest 
of  the  party  seeing  him  received  in  this  friendly  manner, 
instead  of  being  sacrificed,  as  they  undoubtedly  expected, 
started  under  "  full  whip"  in  a  direct  line  towards  us,  and 
in  a  moment  gathered,  like  a  black  cloud,  around  us  1  The 
regiment  then  moved  up  in  regular  order,  and  a  general 
shake  of  the  hand  ensued,  which  was  accomplished  by  each 
warrior  riding  along  the  ranks,  and  shaking  the  hand  of 
every  one  as  he  passed.    This  necessary  form  took  up  con- 

31 


■iv- *f ;' 


<iiH 


*',  !' 


li. 


482 


LETTERS  AND  N0TB3  ON  THE 


sidcrablo  time,  and  during  tho  whole  operation,  my  eyca 
were  fixed  upon  the  gallant  and  wonderful  appearance  of 
the  little  fellow  who  bore  U8  the  white  flag  on  the  point  of 
his  lance.  lie  rode  a  fine  and  spirited  wild  horse,  which 
was  as  white  as  tho  drifted  snow,  with  an  exuberant  mane, 
and  its  long  and  busliy  tail  sweeping  the  ground.  In  his 
hand  he  tightly  drew  the  reins  upon  a  heavy  Spanish  bit, 
and  at  every  jump,  plunged  into  the  animal's  sides,  till  they 
were  in  a  gore  of  blood,  a  huge  pair  of  spurs,  plundered,  no 
doubt,  from  the  Spaniards  in  their  border  wars,  which  are 
continually  waged  on  the  Mexican  frontiers.  The  eyes  of 
this  noble  little  steed  seemed  to  be  squeezed  out  of  its  head ; 
and  its  fright  and  its  agitation  had  brought  out  upon  its 
skin  a  perspiration  that  was  fretted  into  a  white  foam  and 
lather.  The  warrior's  quiver  was  slung  on  tho  warrior's 
back,  and  his  bow  grasped  in  his  left  hand,  ready  for  instant 
use,  if  called  for.  His  shield  was  on  his  arm,  and  across  his 
thigh,  in  a  beautiful  cover  of  buckskin,  his  gun  was  slung 
— and  in  his  right  hand  his  lance  of  fourteen  feet  in  length. 

Thus  armed  and  equipped  was  this  dashing  cavalier;  and 
nearly  in  the  same  manner,  all  the  rest  of  the  party ;  and 
very  many  of  them  leading  an  extra  horse,  which  we  soon 
learned  was  the  favorite  war-horse ;  and  from  which  circum- 
stances altogether,  we  soon  understood  that  they  were  a  war- 
party  in  search  of  their  enemy. 

After  a  shake  of  the  hand,  we  dismounted,  and  the  pipe 
was  lit,  and  passed  around.  And  then  a  *'  talk  "  was  held, 
in  which  we  were  aided  by  a  Spaniard  we  luckily  had  with 
us,  who  could  converse  with  ono  of  the  Camanchees,  who 
spoke  some  Spanish. 

Colonel  Dodge  explained  to  them  the  friendly  motives 
with  which  we  were  penetrating  their  country — that  we  were 
sent  by  the  President  to  reach  their  villages — to  see  the  chiefs 
of  the  Camanchees  and  Pawnee  Picts — to  shake  hands  with 
them,  and  ♦to  smoke  the  pipe  of  peace,  and  to  establish  an 
acquaintance,  and  consequently  a  system  of  trade  that  would 
be  beneficial  to  both. 


1 


NORTn  AMERICAN   IT^DIANB. 


488 


Tbey  listened  attentively,  and  perfectly  appreciated ;  and 
taking  Colonel  Dodge  at  his  word,  relying  with  confidence 
in  what  he  told  them;  they  inform  i^d  us  that  tLoir  great  town 
was  within  a  few  days'  march,  and  pointing  in  the  direction 
— offered  to  abandon  their  war-excursion,  and  turn  about  and 
escort  us  to  it,  which  they  did  in  perfect  good  faith.  We 
were  on  the  march  in  the  afternoon  of  that  day,  and  from  day 
to  day  they  busily  led  us  on  over  hill  and  dale,  encamping 
by  the  side  of  us  at  night,  and  resuming  the  march  in  the 
morning. 

During  this  march  over  one  of  the  most  lovely  and  pictu- 
resque  countries  in  the  world,  we  had  enough  continually 
to  amuse  and  excite  us.  The  whole  country  seemed  at  times 
to  be  alive  with  buffaloes  and  bands  of  wild  horsei 

We  had  with  us  about  thirty  Osage  and  Cherokee,  Seneca 
and  Delaware  Indians,  employed  as  guides  and  hunters  for 
the  regiment ;  and  with  the  war-party  of  ninety  or  a  hun^ 
dred  Camanchees,  we  formed  a  most  picturesque  appearance 
while  passing  over  the  green  fields,  and  consequently,  caused 
sad  havoc  amongst  the  herds  of  buffaloes,  which  we  were 
almost  hourly  passing.  We  were  now  out  of  the  influence 
and  reach  of  bread  stuffs  and  subsisted  ourselves  on  buffa- 
loes' meat  altogether;  and  the  Indians  of  the  different 
tribes,  emulous  to  shew  their  skill  in  the  chase,  and  prove 
the  mettle  of  their  horses,  took  infinite  pleasure  in  dashing 
into  every  herd  that  we  approached ;  by  which  means, 
the  regiment  was  abundantly  supplied  from  day  to  day 
with  fresh  meat. 

In  one  of  those  spirited  scenes  when  the  regiment  were 
on  the  march,  and  the  Indians  with  their  bows  and  arrows 
were  closely  plying  a  band  of  these  affrighted  animals, 
they  made  a  bolt  through  the  line  of  the  dragoons,  and  a 
complete  breach,  through  which  the  whole  herd  passed, 
upsetting  horses  and  riders  in  the  most  amusing  manner, 
and  receiving  such  shots  as  came  from  those  guns  and 
pistols  that  were  aimed,  and  not  fired  off  into  the  empty 
air. 


*.?•    ■■■/    ■■!^ 


im 


~^: 


v9v 


LETTERS  AND  N0TK3   ON  THE 


The  buffaloes  are  very  blind  animals,  and  owing,  probably 
in  a  great  measure,  to  the  profuse  locks  that  hang  over 
their  eyes,  they  run  chiefly  by  the  nose,  and  follow  in  the 
tracks  of  each  other,  seemingly  heedless  of  what  is  about 
them ;  and  of  course,  easily  disposed  to  rush  in  a  mass 
and  the  whole  tribe  or  gang  pass  in  the  tracks  of  those  that 
have  first  led  the  way. 

The  tract  of  country  over  which  we  passed,  between  the 
False  Washita  and  this  place,  is  stocked,  not  only  with  buf- 
faloes, but  with  numerous  bands  of  wild  horses,  many  of 
which  we  saw  every  day.  There  is  no  other  animal  on  the 
prairies  so  wild  and  so  sagacious  as  the  horse ;  and  none 
other  so  difficult  to  come  up  with.  So  remarkably  keen  is 
their  eye,  that  they  will  generally  run  •*  at  the  sight,"  when 
they  are  a  mile  distant ;  being,  no  doubt,  able  to  distinguish 
the  character  of  the  enemy  that  is  approaching  when  at 
that  distance ;  and  when  in  motion,  will  seldom  stop  short 
of  three  or  four  miles.  I  made  many  attempts  to  approach 
them  by  stealth,  when  they  were  grazing  and  playing  their 
gambols,  without  ever  having  been  more  than  once  able  to 
succeed.  In  this  instance,  I  Icil  my  horse,  and  with  my 
friend  Chadwick,  skulked  through  a  ravine  for  a  couple  of 
miles ;  until  we  wero  at  length  brought  within  gun-shot 
of  a  fine  herd  of  them,  when  I  used  my  pencil  for  some 
time,  while  we  were  under  cover  of  a  little  hedge  of  bushes 
which  effectually  screened  us  from  their  view.  In  this 
herd  we  saw  all  the  colors,  nearly,  that  can  be  seen  in  a 
kennel  of  English  hounds.  Some  were  milk  white,  some 
jet  black — others  were  sorrel,  and  bay  and  cream  color 
— many  were  of  an  iron  grey  ;  and  others  were  pied,  con- 
taining a  variety  of  colors  on  the  same  animal.  Their 
manes  were  very  profuse,  and  hanging  in  the  wildest 
confusion  over  their  necks  and  faces — ^and  their  long  tails 
swept  the  ground. 

After  we  had  satisfied  our  curiosity  in  looking  at  these 
proud  and  playful  animals,  we  agreed  that  wo  would  try 
the  experiment  of  "  crousing"  one,  as  it  is  termed  in  this 


NOBTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


486 


country ;  which  is  done  by  shooting  them  through  the 
gristle  on  the  top  of  the  neck,  which  stuns  them  so  that 
they  fall,  and  are  ser  red  with  the  hobbles  on  the  feet; 
after  which  they  rise  again  without  fatal  injury.  This  is  a 
practice  often  resorted  to  by  expert  hunters,  with  good 
rifles,  who  are  not  able  to  take  them  in  any  other  way. 
My  friend  Joe  and  I  were  armed  on  this  occasion,  each  with 
a  light  fowling  piece ;  which  have  not  quite  the  precisenesa 
in  throwing  a  bullet  that  a  rifle  has;  and  having  both 
levelled  our  pieces  at  the  withers  of  a  noble,  fine-looking 
iron  grey,  we  pulled  trigger  and  the  poor  creature  fell,  and 
the  rest  of  the  herd  were  out  of  sighi  in  a  moment.  "We 
advanced  speedily  to  him,  and  had  the  most  inexpressible 
mortification  of  finding,  that  we  never  had  thought  of 
hobbles  or  halters,  to  secure  him — and  in  a  few  moments 
more,  had  the  still  greater  mortification,  and  even  anguish, 
to  find  that  one  of  our  shots  had  broken  the  poor  creatures 
neck,  and  that  he  was  quite  dead. 

The  laments  of  poor  Chadwick  for  the  wicked  folly  of  de- 
stroying this  noble  animal,  were  such  as  I  never  shall 
forget ;  and  so  guilty  did  we  feel  that  we  agreed  that  when 
we  joined  the  regiment,  we  should  boast  of  all  the  rest  of 
our  hunting  feats,  but  never  make  mention  of  this. 

The  usual  mode  of  taking  the  wild  horses,  is,  by 
throwing  the  laso,  whilst  pursuing  them  at  full  speed,  and 
dropping  a  noose  over  their  necks,  by  which  their  speed  is 
soon  checked,  and  they  are  "  choked  down. "  The  laso  is  a 
thong  of  rawhide,  some  ten  or  fifteen  yards  in  length,  twisted 
or  braided,  with  a  noose  fixed  at  the  end  of  it ;  which,  when 
the  coil  of  the  laso  is  thrown  out,  drops  with  great  certainty 
over  the  neck  of  the  animal,  which  is  soon  conquered. 

The  Indian,  when  he  starts  for  a  wild  horse,  mounts  one 
of  the  fleetest  he  can  get,  and  coiling  his  laso  on  his  arm, 
starts  oft'  under  the  "  full  whip,"  till  he  can  enter  the  band, 
when  he  soon  gets  it  over  the  neck  of  one  of  the  number  ; 
when  he  instantly  dismounts,  leaving  his  own  horse,  and 
runs  as  fast  as  he  can,  letting  the   laso  pass  out  gradually 


M 


486 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES   ON  THE 


m 


and  carefully  through  his  hands,  until  the  horse  falls  for 
want  of  breath  and  lies  helpless  on  the  ground  ;  at  which 
time  the  Indian  advances  slowly  towards  the  horse's  head, 
keeping  his  laso  tight  upon  its  neck,  until  he  fastens  a  pair 
of  hobbles  on  the  animal's  two  forefeet,  and  also  loosens 
the  laso  (giving  the  horse  chance  to  breathe),  and  gives  it 
a  noose  around  the  under  jaw,  by  which  means  he  gets 
great  power  over  the  aftrighted  animal,  which  is  rearini^ 
and  plunging  when  it  gets  breath ;  and  by  which,  as  he 
advances,  hand  over  hand  towards  the  horse's  nose,  he  is 
able  to  hold  down  and  prevent  it  from  throwing  itself  over 
its  back,  at  the  hazard  of  its  limbs.  By  this  means  ho 
gradually  advances,  until  ho  is  able  to  place  his  hand  ou 
the  animal's  nose  and  over  its  eyes ;  and  at  length  to  breathe 
in  its  nostrils,  when  it  becomes  docile  and  conquered ;  so 
that  he  has  little  else  to  do  than  to  remove  the  hobbles 
from  its  feet,  and  lead  or  ride  it  into  camp. 

This  "  breaking  down  "  or  taming,  however,  is  not  with- 
out the  most  desperate  trial  on  the  part  of  the  horse,  which 
rears  and  plunges  in  every  possible  way  to  effect  its  escape, 
until  its  power  is  exhausted,  and  it  becomes  covered  with 
foam ;  and  at  last  yields  to  the  power  of  man,  and  becomes 
his  willing  slave  for  the  rest  of  its  life.  By  this  very  rigid 
treatment,  the  poor  animal  seems  to  bo  so  completely  con- 
quered, that  it  makes  no  further  struggle  for  its  freedom; 
but  submits  quietly  ever  after,  and  is  led  or  rode  away  with 
very  little  difficulty.  Great  care  is  taken,  however,  iu  this 
and  in  subsequent  treatment,  not  to  subdue  the  spirit  of 
the  animal,  which  is  carefully  preserved  and  kept  up, 
although  they  use  them  with  great  severity ;  being,  gene- 
rally speaking,  cruel  masters. 

The  wild  horse  of  these  regions  is  a  small,  but  very  power- 
ful animal;  with  an  exceedingly  prominent  eye,  sharp  nose, 
high  nostril,  small  feet  and  delicate  leg ;  and  undoubtedly, 
have  sprung  from  a  stock  introduced  by  the  Spaniards,  at 
the  time  of  the  invasion  of  Mexico;  which  having  strayed 
off  upon  the  prairies,  have  run  wild,  and  stocked  the  plains 


If* 


NORTH   AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


487 


from  this  to  Lake  Winnipeg,  two  or  three  thousand  miles  to 
the  north.  * 

This  useful  animal  has  been  of  great  service  to  the 
Indians  living  on  these  vast  plains,  enabling  them  to  take 
their  game  more  easily,  to  carry  their  burthens,  &c. ;  and  no 
doubt,  render  them  better  and  handier  service  than  if  they 
were  of  a  larger  and  heavier  breed.  Vast  numbers  of  them 
are  also  killed  for  food  by  the  Indians,  at  seasons  when  buf- 
faloes and  other  game  are  scarce.  They  subsist  themselves 
both  in  winter  and  summer  by  biting  at  the  grass,  which 
they  can  always  get  in  sufficient  quantities  for  their  food. 

Whilst  on  our  march  we  met  with  manv  droves  of  these 
beautiful  animals,  and  several  times  had  the  opportunity  of 
seeing  the  Indiana  pursue  them,  and  take  them  with  the 
laso.  The  first  successful  instance  of  the  kind  was  effected 
by  one  of  our  guides  and  hunters,  by  the  name  of  Beatte,  a 
Frenchman  whose  parents  had  lived  nearly  their  whole 
lives  in  the  Osage  village;  and  who,  himself  had  been 
reared  from  infancy  amongst  them ;  and  in  a  continual  life 
of  Indian  modes  and  amusements,  had  acquired  all  the  skill 
and  tact  of  his  Indian  teachers,  and  probably  a  little  more ; 
for  he  is  reputed,  without  exception,  the  best  hunter  in 
these  Western  regions. 

This  instance  took  place  one  day  whilst  the  regiment 
was  at  its  usual  halt  of  an  hour,  in  the  middle  of  the  day. 

When  the  bugle  sounded  for  a  halt,  and  all  were  dis- 
mounted, Beatte  and  several  others  of  the  huntera  asked 
permission  of  Col.  Dodge  to  pursue  a  drove  of  horses  which 
were  then  in  sight,  at  a  distance  of  a  mile  or  more  from  us. 
The  permision  was  given,  and  they  started  off,  and  by  fol- 
lowing a  ravine,  approached  near  to  the  unsuspecting 
animals,  when  they  broke  upon  them  and  pursued  them  for 

*  There  are  many  very  curious  traditions  about  the  first  appearance 
of  horses  amongst  the  difforont  tribes,  and  many  of  which  bear  stnKing 
proof  of  the  above  fact.  Most  of  the  tribes  have  some  story  about  tho 
first  appearance  of  horses  ;  and  amongst  the  Sionx,  they  have  beautifully 
recorded  the  fact,  by  giving  it  the  name  of  yhonlia-wukon  (the  medicine- 
dog). 


11 


■:l.. 


^,1 


.     ■    1    4  ]         '•I 

ii«-ft)  :  :" 


t\ 


?tf!^  >.. 


488 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  TUB 


several  miles  in  full  view  of  the  regiment.  Several  of  ug 
had  goocl  glasses,  with  which  we  could  plainly  see  every 
movement  and  every  manoeuvre.  After  a  race  of  two  or 
three  miles  Beatto  was  seen  with  his  wild  horse  down,  and 
the  band  and  the  other  hunters  rapidly  leaving  him. 

Seeing  him  in  this  condition,  I  galloped  off  to  him  as 
rapidly  as  possible,  and  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  the 
whole  operation  of  "  breaking  down,"  and  bringing  in  the 
wild  animal.  When  he  had  conquered  the  horse  in  this 
way,  his  brother,  who  was  one  of  the  unsuccessful  ones 
in  the  chase,  came  riding  back,  and  leading  up  the  horse 
of  Beatte  which  he  had  left  behind,  and  after  staying 
with  us  a  few  minutes,  assisted  Beatte  in  leading  his 
conqured  wild  horse  towards  the  regiment,  where  it  was 
satisfactorily  examined  and  commented  upon,  as  it  was 
trembling  and  covered  with  white  foam,  until  the  bugle 
sounded  the  signal  for  marching,  when  all  mounted ;  and 
with  the  rest,  Beatte,  astride  of  his  wild  horse,  which  had  a 
buffalo  skin  girted  on  its  back,  and  a  halter,  with  a  cruel 
noose  around  the  under  jaw.  In  this  manner  the  command 
resumed  its  march,  and  Beatte  astride  of  his  wild  horse,  on 
which  he  rode  quietly  and  without  difficulty,  until  night* 
the  whole  thing,  the  capture,  and  breaking,  all  having  been 
accomplished  within  the  space  of  one  hour,  our  usual  and 
daily  halt  at  midday. 

Several  others  of  these  animals  were  caught  in  a  similar 
manner  during  our  march,   by  others   of   our    hunters 
affording  us    satisfactory  instances  of   this    most  extra- 
ordinary and  almost  unaccountable  feat. 

The  horses  that  were  caught  were  by  no  means  very 
valuable  specimens,  being  rather  of  an  ordinary  quality; 
and  I  saw  to  my  perfect  satisfaction,  that  the  finest  of  these 
droves  can  never  be  obtained  in  this  way,  as  they  take  the 
lead  at  once,  when  they  are  pursued,  and  in  a  few  moments 
will  be  seen  half  a  mile  or  more  ahead  of  the  bulk  of  the 
drove,  which  they  are  leading  off.  There  is  not  a  doubt 
but  there  are  many  very  fine  and  valuable  horses  amongst 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


489 


these  herds ;  but  it  is  impossible  for  the  Indian  or  other 
hunter  to  take  them,  unless  it  be  done  by  "  creasing"  them, 
as  I  have  before  described ;  which  is  often  done,  but 
always  destroys  the  spirit  and  character  of  the  animal. 

After  many  hard  and  tedious  days  of  travel,  we  were  at 
last  told  by  our  Camanchee  guides  that  we  were  near  their 
village;  and  having  led  us  to  the  top  of  a  gently  rising 
elevation  on  the  prairie,  they  pointed  to  their  village  at 
several  miles  distance,  in  the  midst  of  one  of  the  most 
enchanting  valleys  that  human  eyes  ever  looked  upon. 
The  general  course  of  the  valley  is  from  N.  W.  to  S.  E.,  of 
several  miles  in  width,  with  a  magnificent  range  of  moun- 
tains rising  in  distance  beyond ;  it  being,  without  doubt,  a 
huge  "  spur"  of  the  Eocky  Mountains,  composed  entirely 
of  a  reddish  granite  or  gneiss,  corresponding  with  the  other 
links  of  this  stupendous  chain.    In  the  midst  of  this  lovely 


valley,  we    could  just    discern 


amongst 


the   scattering 


shrubbery  that  lined  the  banks  of  the  watercourses,  the 
tops  of  the  Camanchee  wigwams,  and  the  smoke  curling 
above  them.  The  valley,  for  a  mile  distant  about  the 
village,  seemed  speckled  with  horses  and  mules  that  were 
grazing  in  it.  The  chiefs  of  the  war-party  requested  the 
regiment  to  halt,  until  they  could  ride  in,  and  inform  their 
people  who  were  coming.  We  then  dismounted  for  an 
hour  or  so ;  when  we  could  see  them  busily  running  and 
catching  their  horses ;  and  at  length,  several  hundreds  of 
their  braves  and  warriors  came  out  at  full  speed  to  wel- 
come us,  and  forming  in  a  line  in  front  of  us,  as  we  were 
again  mounted,  presented  a  formidable  and  pleasing  ap- 
pearance. As  they  wheeled  their  horses,  they  very  rapidly 
formed  iu  a  line,  and  **  dressed"  like  well-disciplined 
cavalry.  The  regiment  was  drawn  up  in  three  columns, 
with  a  line  formed  in  front,  by  Colonel  Dodge  and  his 
staff,  in  which  rank  my  friend  Chadwick  and  I  were  also 
paraded ;  when  we  had  a  fine  view  of  the  whole  manoeuvre, 
which  was  picturesque  and  thrilling  in  the  extreme. 
In  the  centre  of  our  advance  was  stationed  a  white  flag, 


I 


H 


490 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


and  the  Indians  answered  to  it  with  one  which  they  sent 
forward  and  planted  by  the  wide  of  it.  * 

The  two  lines  were  thus  drawn  up  face  to  face,  within 
twenty  or  thirty  yards  of  each  other,  as  inveterate  foes  that 
never  had  met ;  and,  to  the  everlasting  credit  of  the  Caman- 
chees,  whom  the  world  had  always  looked  upon  as  murder- 
ous and  hostile,  they  had  all  come  out  in  this  manner,  with 
their  heads  uncovered,  and  without  a  weapon  of  any  kind 
to  meet  a  war-party  bristling  with  arms,  and  trespassing  to 
the  middle  of  their  country.  They  had  every  reason  to  look 
upon  us  as  their  natural  enemy,  as  they  have  been  in  the 
habit  of  estimating  all  pale  faces ;  and  yet  instead  of  arms  or 
defences,  or  even  of  frowns,  they  galloped  out  and  looked  us 
in  our  faces,  without  an  expression  of  fear  or  dismay,  and 
evidently  with  expressions  of  joy  and  impatient  pleasure,  to 
shake  us  by  the  hand,  on  the  bare  assertion  of  Colonel  Dodge, 
which  had  b6en  made  to  the  chiefs,  that  "  we  came  to  see 
them  on  a  friendly  visit." 

After  we  had  sat  and  gazea  at  each  other  in  this  way  for 
some  half  an  hour  or  so,  the  head  chief  of  the  band  came 
galloping  up  to  Colonel  Dodge,  and  having  shaken  him  by 
the  hand,  he  passed  on  to  the  other  officers  in  turn,  and  then 
rode  alongside  of  the  different  columns,  shaking  hands  with 
«.  -cry  dragoon  in  the  regiment ;  he  was  followed  in  this  by 
his  principal  chiefs  and  braves,  which  altogether  took  up 
nearly  an  hour  longer,  when  the  Indians  retreated  slowly 
towards  their  village,  escorting  us  to  the  banks  of  a  fine 
clear  stream,  and  a  good  spring  of  fresh  water,  half  a  mile 
from  their  village,  which  they  designated  as  a  suitable  place 

*  It  ia  a  fact  which  I  deem  to  be  worth  noting  here,  that  amongst  all 
lDdiar>  tribes,  that  I  have  yet  visited,  in  their  primitive,  as  well  as  im- 
proved state,  the  white  flag  is  used  as  a  flag  of  trace,  as  it  is  in  the  civi> 
lized  parts  of  the  world,  and  held  to  be  sacred  and  inviolable.  The 
ch'cf  going  to  war  alwajs  carries  it  in  some  form  or  other,  generally  of  a 
piece  of  white  skin  or  bark,  rolled  on  a  small  stick,  and  carried  under 
his  dress,  or  otherwise ;  and  also  a  red  flag,  either  to  be  unfurled  when 
occasion  requires,  the  white,  flag  as  a  truce,  and  the  red  one  for  b.  .Uc, 
or,  as  they  say,  "  for  blood." 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


491 


for  our  encampment,  and  we  were  soon  bivouacked  at  the 
place  from  which  I  am  now  scribbling. 

No  sooner  were  we  encamped  here  (or,  in  other  words,  as 
soon  as  our  things  were  thrown  upon  the  ground, )  Major 
Mason,  Lieutenant  Wheelock,  Captain  Brown,  Captain 
Duncan,  my  friend  Chadwiok  and  myself,  galloped  off  to  the 
village  and  through  it  in  the  greatest  impatience  to  the 
prairies,  where  there  were  at  least  three  thousand  horses 
and  mules  grazing ;  all  of  us  eager  and  impatient  to  see  and 
to  appropriate  the  splendid  Arabian  horses,  which  we  had  so 
often  heard  were  owned  by  the  Camanchee  warriors.  We 
galloped  around  busily,  and  glanced  our  eyes  rapidly  over 
them  and  all  soon  returned  to  the  camp,  quite  "  crest  fallen," 
and  satisfied,  that,  although  there  were  some  tolerable  nags 
amongst  this  medley  group  of  all  colors  and  all  shapes,  the 
beautiful  Arabian  we  had  so  often  heard  of  at  the  East,  as 
belonging  to  the  Camanchees,  must  either  be  a  great  ways 
further  South  than  this,  or  else  it  must  be  a  horse  of  the 
imagination. 

The  Camanchee  horses  are  generally  small,  all  of  them 
being  of  the  wild  breed,  and  a  very  tough  and  serviceable 
animal ;  and  from  what  I  can  learn  here  of  the  chiefe,  there 
are  yet  farther  South,  and  nearer  the  Mexican  borders,  some 
of  the  noblest  animals  in  use  of  the  chiefs,  yet  I  do  not  know 
that  we  have  any  more  reason  to  rely  upon  this  information, 
than  that  which  had  made  our  horse-jockeys  that  we  have 
with  us,  to  run  almost  crazy  for  the  possession  of  those  we 
were  to  find  at  this  place.  Amongst  the  immense  herds  we 
found  grazing  here,  one-third  perhaps  ai  o  mules,  which  are 
much  more  valuable  than  the  horses. 

Of  the  horses,  the  officers  and  men  have  purchased  a  num- 
ber of  the  best,  by  giving  a  very  inferior  blanket  and 
butcher's  knife,  costing  in  all  about  four  dollars!  These 
horses  in  our  cities  at  the  East,  independent  of  the  name, 
putting  them  upon  their  merits  alone,  would  be  worth  from 
eighty  to  one  hundred  dollars  each,  if  not  more. 

A  vast  many  of  such  could  be  bought  on  such  terms,  and 


0^t 


¥4 


SI" 


iitiii 


'fill 


";.5f » 


*  •  >  ■ 


492 


LETTEBS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


are  hourly  brought  into  camp  for  sale.  If  we  had  goods  to 
trade  for  them,  and  means  of  getting  them  home,  a  great 
profit  could  he  made,  which  can  easily  be  learned  from  the 
following  transaction  that  took  place  yesterday.  A  fine 
looking  Indian  was  hanging  about  my  tent  very  closely  for 
several  days,  and  continually  scanning  an  old  and  half-worn 
cotton  umbrella,  which  I  carried  over  me  to  keep  off  the  sun 
as  I  was  suffering  with  fever  and  ague,  and  at  last  proposed 
to  purchase  it  of  me,  with  a  very  neat  limbed  and  pretty  pied 
horse  which  he  was  riding.  He  proposed  at  first,  that  I 
should  give  him  a  knife  and  the  umbrella,  but  as  I  was  not 
disposed  for  the  trade  (the  umbrella  being  so  useful  an  article 
to  me,  that  I  did  not  know  how  to  part  with  it,  not  knowing 
whether  there  was  another  in  the  regiment) ;  he  came  a 
second  time,  and  offered  me  the  horse  for  the  umbrella  alone 
which  offer  I  still  rejected ;  and  he  went  back  to  the  village 
and  soon  returned  with  another  horse  of  a  much  better 
quality,  supposing  that  I  had  not  valued  the  former  one 
equal  to  the  umbrella. 

With  this  he  endeavored  to  push  the  trade,  and  after  I 
had  with  great  difficulty  made  him  understand  that  I  was 
sick,  and  could  not  part  with  it,  he  turned  and  rode  back 
towards  the  village,  and  in  a  short  time  returned  again  with 
one  of  the  largest  and  finest  mules  I  ever  saw,  proposing 
that,  which  I  also  rejected  ;  when  he  disappeared  again. 

In  a  few  moments  my  friend  Captain  Duncan,  in  whose 
hospitable  tent  I  was  quartered,  came  in,  and  the  circura- 
Btance  being  related  to  him,  started  up  some  warm  jockey 
feelings,  which  he  was  thoroughly  possessed  of,  when  he 

instantly  sprang  upon  his  feet,  and  exclaimed,"  d mn 

the  fellow  1  where  is  he  gone  ?  here,  Oosset  I  get  my  old 
umbrella  out  of  the  pack,  I  rolled  it  up  with  my  wiper  and 
the  frying-pan — get  it  as  quick  as  lightning  1"  With  it  in 
his  hand,  the  worthy  Captain  soon  overtook  the  young 
man,  and  escorted  him  into  the  village,  and  returned  in  a 
short  ti  ne — not  with  the  mule,  but  with  the  second  horse 
that  had  been  offered  to  me. 


f* 


** 


** 


■^ft. 


LETTER  No.  XLII. 
GREAT  CAMANCHEE  VILLAGE. 

The  village  of  the  Oamanchees  by  the  side  of  which  we 
are  encamped,  ia  composed  of  six  or  eight  hundred  skin- 
covered  lodges,  made  of  poles  and  buffalo  skins,  in  the 
manner  precisely  as  those  of  the  Sioux  and  other  Missouri 
tribes,  of  which  I  have  heretofore  given  some  account. 
This  village  with  its  thousands  of  wild  inmates,  with  horses 
and  dogs,  and  wild  sports  and  domestic  occupations, 
presents  a  most  curious  scene ;  and  the  manners  and  looks 
of  the  people,  a  rich  subject  for  the  brush  and  the  pen. 

These  people,  living  in  a  country  where  buffaloes  are 
abundant,  make  their  wigwams  more  easily  of  their  skins, 
than  of  anything  else;  and  with  them  find  greater  facili- 
ties of  moving   about,  as   circumstaDces   often   require, 

(493) 


1 


r3  i.  •  ^-n^i  .-■ 


m 


'■flfli 


;•■■' 

t 


i 


P 


H 


49^ 


LETTERS   AND  X0TE3  ON  TUE 


"wlicn  they  drag  them  upon  the  poles  attached  to  their 
horses,  and  erect  them  again  with  littlo  trouble  in  their 
new  residence. 

Wo  white  men,  strolling  about  amongst  their  wigwams 
arc  looked  upon  with  as  much  curiosity  as  if  we  had  come 
from  the  moon ;  and  evidently  create  a  sort  of  chill  in  the 
blood  of  children  and  dogs,  when  we  make  our  appearance. 
I  was  pleased  to-day  with  the  simplicity  of  a  group  which 
came  out  in  front  of  the  chiefs  lodge  to  scrutinize  my 
faithful  friend  Chadwiok  and  I,  as  we  were  strolling  about 
the  avenues  and  labyrinths  of  their  village ;  upon  which  I 
took  out  my  book  and  sketched  as  quick  as  lightning, 
whilst  "Joe"  rivetted  their  attention  by  some  ingenious 
trick  or  other,  over  my  shoulders,  which  I  did  not  see 
having  no  time  to  turn  my  head.  These  were  the  juvenile 
parts  of  the  chiefs  family,  and  all  who  at  this  moment  were 
at  home;  the  venerable  old  man,  and  his  three  or  four 
wives,  making  a  visit,  like  hundreds  of  others,  to  the 
encampment. 

In  speaking  just  above,  of  the  mode  of  moving  their 
wigwams,  and  changing  their  encampments,  I  should  have 
said  a  little  more,  and  should  also  have  given  to  the  reader, 
a  sketch  of  one  of  these  extraordinary  scenes,  which  I  have 
had  the  good  luck  to  witness,  where  several  thousands 
were  on  the  march ;  and  furnishing  one  of  those  laughable 
scenes  which  daily  happen,  where  so  many  dogs,  and  so 
many  squaws,  are  travelling  in  such  a  confused  mass ;  with 
Eo  many  conflicting  interests,  and  so  many  local  and  in- 
dividual rights  to  be  pertinaciously  claimed  and  protected. 
Each  horse  drags  his  load,  and  each  dog,  t.  e.  each  dog  that 
will  do  it  (and  there  are  many  that  will  not)^  also  dragging 
his  wallet  on  a  couple  of  poles;  and  each  squaw  with  her 
load,  and  all  together  (notwithstanding  their  burthens) 
cherishing  their  pugnacious  feelings,  which  often  bring 
them  into  general  conflict,  commencing  usually  amongst 
the  dogs,  and  sure  to  result  in  fj.y^icufTd  of  the  women; 
whilst  the  men,  riding  leisurely  on  luc    ight  or  the  left, 


warns, 
.  como 
in  the 
irancc. 
wUicli 
izo  my 
g  about 
wliicli  I 
rhtning, 
igonioua 
not  see, 
juvcnilo 
,ent  wero 
I  or  four 
I,  to  tho 

ing  tbeir 
uld  havo 
10  readier, 
ch  I  havo 
thouBaadH 
laughable 
rg,  and  so 
lasa ;  with 
al  and  in- 
protected, 
b  dog  that 
3  dragging 
V  with  her 

burthens) 
ftea  bring 
y  amongst 

0  -women; 

r  the  left, 


NOniH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


495 


take  infinite  picas u re  in  overlooking  these  desperate  eon- 
flicta,  at  which  they  are  sure  to  have  a  laugh,  and  in  which, 
as  sure  never  to  lend  a  hand. 

The  Oamanchcos,  like  the  Northern  tribes,  have  many 
games,  and  in  pleasant  weather  seem  to  be  continually 
practicing  more  or  less  of  them,  on  the  prairies,  back  of, 
and  contiguous  to,  their  village. 

In  their  ball-plays,  and  some  other  games,  they  are  far 
behind  the  Sioux  and  others  of  the  Northern  tribes ;  but, 
in  racing  horses  and  riding,  they  are  not  equalled  by  any 
other  Indians  on  the  Continent.    Racing  horses,  it  would 
seem,  is  a  constant  and  almost  incessant  exercise,  and  their 
principal  mode  of  gambling ;  and  perhaps,  a  more  finished 
set  of  jockeys  are  not  to  be  found.    The  excorcise  of  these 
people,  in  a  country  where  horses  are  so  abundant,  and  the 
country  so  fine  for  riding,  is  chiefly  done  on  horseback ; 
and  it  "stands  to  reason,"  that  such  a  people,  who  have 
been  practicing    from    their    childhood,    should    become 
exceedingly  expert  in  this  wholesome  and  beautiful  exer« 
cise.    Amongst  their  feats  of  riding,  there  is  one  that  has 
astonished  me  more  than  anything  of  the  kind  I  have  ever 
seen,  or  expect  to  see,  in  my  life : — a  stratagem  of  war, 
learned  and  practiced  by  every  young  man  in  the  tribe ;  by 
which  he  is  able  to  drop  his  body  upon  the  side  of  hia 
horse  at  the  instant  he  is  passing,  effectually  screened  from 
his  enemies'  weapons  as  he  lays  in  a  horizontal  position 
behind  the  body  of  his  horse,  with  his  heel  hanging  over 
the  horses'  back ;  by  which  he  has  the  power  of  throwing 
himself  up  again,  and  changing  to  the  other  side  of  the 
horse  if  necessary.    In  this  wonderful  condition,  he  will 
hang  whilst  his  horse  is  at  fullest  speed,  carrying  with  him 
his  bow  and  his  shield,  and  also  his  long  lance  of  fourteen 
feet  in  length,  all  or  either  of  which  he  will  wield  upon  his 
enemy  as  he  passes ;  rising  and  throwing  his  arrows  over 
the  horse's  back,  or  with  equal  ease  and  equal  success  under 
the  horse's  neck.    Since  writing  the  above,  I  have  con- 
versed with  some  of  the  young  men  c''  iKe  Pawnees,  who 


"f, 


m 


;.!: 


H 


".„,fi" 


m 


m 


496 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


practice  the  same  feat,  and  who  told  mc  they  could  throw 
the  arrow  from  under  the  horse's  belly,  and  elevate  it  upon 
an  enemy  with  deadly  effect  1 

This  feat  I  did  not  see  performed,  but  from  what  I  did 
see,  I  feel  inclined  to  believe  that  these  young  men  were 
boasting  of  no  more  than  they  were  able  to  perform. 

This  astonishing  feat  which  the  young  men  have  been 
repeatedly  playing  off  to  our  surprise  as  well  as  amuse- 
ment, whilst  they  have  been  galloping  about  in  front  of 
our  tents,  completely  puzzled  the  whole  of  us;  and 
appeared  to  be  the  result  of  magic,  rather  than  of  skill 
acquired  by  practice.  I  had  several  times  great  curiosity 
to  approach  them,  to  ascertain  by  what  means  their  bodies 
could  be  suspended  in  this  manner,  where  nothing  could  be 
seen  but  the  heel  hanging  over  the  horse's  back.  In  these 
endeavors  I  was  continually  frustrated,  until  one  day  I 
coaxed  a  young  fellow  up  within  a  little  distance  of  me 
by  offering  him  a  few  plugs  of  tobacco,  and  he  in  a  moment 
solved  the  difficulty,  so  far  as  to  render  it  apparently  more 
feasible  than  before ;  yet  leaving  it  one  of  the  most  extra- 
ordinary results  of  practice  and  persevering  endeavors.  I 
found  on  examination,  that  a  short  hair  halter  was  passed 
around  under  the  neck  of  the  horse,  and  both  ends  tightly 
braided  into  the  mane,  on  the  withers,  leaving  a  loop  to 
hang  under  the  neck,  and  against  the  breast,  which,  being 
caught  up  in  the  hand,  makes  a  sling  into  which  the  elbow 
falls,  taking  the  weight  of  the  body  on  the  middle  of  the 
upper  arm.  Into  this  loop  the  rider  drops  suddenly  and 
fearlessly,  leaving  his  heel  to  hang  over  the  back  of  the 
horse,  to  steady  him,  and  also  to  restore  him  when  he 
wishes  to  regain  his  upright  position  on  the  horse's  back. 

Besides  this  wonderful  art,  these  people  have  several 
other  feats  of  horsemanship,  which  they  are  continually 
showing  off;  which  are  pleasing  and  extraordinary,  and  of 
which  they  seem  very  proud.  A  people  who  spend  so  very 
grc  .t  a  part  of  their  lives,  actually  on  their  horse's  backs, 
must  needs  become  exceedingly  expert  in  every  thing  that 


throvr 
,  upou 

I  did 
a  were 

e  been 
amuse- 

'ront  of 

is;   and 
of  ekill 

curiosity 

ir  bodies 

could  be 
In  these 

ae  day  I 

icc  of  me 

a  moment 

jTitly  more 

lost  extra- 

javors.     I 
■as  passed 
ids  tigbtly 
a  loop  to 
licb,  being 
the  elbow 
idle  of  tbe 
[ddenly  and 
>aclc  of  tbc 
when  be 
le'a  back, 
[ave  several 
continually 
|nary,  and  of 
,ond  so  very 
»rse's  backs, 
thing  that 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


497 


pertains  to  riding — to  war,  or  to  the  chase ;  and  1  am  ready, 
without  hesitation,  to  pronounce  the  Camancheea  the  most 
extraordinary  horsemen  that  I  have  seen  yet  in  all  my 
travels,  and  I  doubt  very  much  whether  any  people  in  the 
world  can  surpass  them. 

The  Camanchees  are  in  stature,  rather  low,  and  in  person, 
often  approaching  to  corpulency.  In  their  movements, 
they  are  heavy  and  ungraceful ;  and  on  their  feet,  one  of 
the  most  unattractive  and  slovenly -looking  races  of  Indiana 
that  I  have  ever  seen ;  but  the  moment  they  mount  their 
horses,  they  seem  at  once  metamorphosed,  and  surprise  the 
spectator  with  the  ease  and  elegance  of  their  movements. 
A  Camanchee  on  his  feet  is  out  of  his  element,  and  com- 
paratively almost  as  awkward  as  a  monkey  on  the  ground, 
without  a  limb  or  a  branch  to  cling  to ;  but  the  moment  he 
lays  his  hand  upon  his  horse,  his  face  even,  becomes  hand- 
some, and  he  gracefully  flies  away  like  a  different  being. 

Our  encampment  is  surrounded  by  continual  swarms  of 
old  and  young — of  middle  aged— of  male  and  female^-of 
dogs,  and  every  moving  thing  that  constitutes  their  com- 
munity ;  and  our  tents  are  lined  with  the  chiefs  and  oth^r 
worthies  of  the  tribe.  So  it  will  be  seen  there  is  no  diffi- 
culty of  getting  subjects  enough  for  my  brush,  as  well  as 
for  my  pen,  whilst  residing  in  this  place. 

The  head  chief  of  this  village,  who  is  represented  to  us 
here,  as  the  head  of  the  nation,  is  a  mild  and  pleasant 
looking  gentleman,  without  anything  striking  or  peculiar  in 
his  looks;  dressed  in  a  very  humble  manner,  with  very 
few  ornaments  upon  him,  and  his  hair  carelessly  falling 
about  his  face,  and  over  his  shoulders.  The  name  of  this 
chief  is  Ee-shah-ko-nee  (the  bow  and  quiver).  The  only 
ornaments  to  be  seen  about  him  were  a  couple  of  beautiful 
shells  worn  in  his  ears,  and  a  boar's  tusk  attached  to  his 
neck,  and  worn  on  his  breast. 

For  several  days  after  we  arrived  at  this  place,  there  was 
a  huge  mass  of  flesh,  Ta-wah-que-nah  (the  mountain  of 
rocks),  who  was  put  forward  as  head  chief  of  the  tribe ; 

32 


^ 

h 


i 


498 


LBTTEB3  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


and  all  honors  were  being  paid  to  him  by  the  regiment  of 
dragoons,  until  the  above-mentioned  chief  arrived  from  the 
country,  where  it  seems  he  was  leading  a  war-party  ;  and 
had  been  sent  for,  no  doubt,  on  the  occasion.  When  he 
arrived,  this  huge  monster,  who  is  the  largest  and  fattest 
Indian  I  ever  saw,  stepped  quite  into  the  back-ground 
giving  way  to  this  admitted  chief,  who  seemed  to  have  the 
confidence  and  respect  of  the  whole  tribe. 

This  enormous  man,  whose  flesh  would  undoubtedly 
weigh  three  hundred  pounds  or  more,  took  the  most  won- 
derful  strides  in  the  exercise  of  his  temporary  authority  • 
which,  in  all  probability,  he  was  laAvfuUy  exercising  in  the 
absence  of  his  superior,  as  second  chief  of  the  tribe. 

A  perfect  personation  of  Jack  Falstaff,  in  size  and  in 
figure,  with  an  African  face,  and  a  beard  on  his  chin  of  two 
or  three  inches  of  length.  His  name,  he  tells  me,  he  got 
from  having  conducted  a  large  party  of  Caraanchees  through 
a  secret  and  subterraneous  passage,  entirely  through  the 
mountain  of  granite  rocks,  which  lies  back  of  their  village  • 
thereby  saving  their  lives  from  their  more  powerful  enemy 
who  had  "  cornered  them  up  "  in  such  a  way,  that  there 
was  no  other  possible  mode  of  their  escape.  The  mountain 
under  which  he  conducted  them,  is  called  Tawah-que-nah 
(the  mountain  of  rocks),  and  from  this  he  has  received  his 
name,  which  would  certainly  have  been  far  more  appropriate 
if  it  had  been  a  mountain  of  flesh. 

Corpulency  is  a  thing  exceedingly  rare  to  be  found  iu 
any  of  the  tribes,  amongst  the  men,  owing  probably,  to  the 
exposed  and  active  sort  of  live  they  lead  ;  and  that  in  the 
absence  of  all  the  spices  of  life,  many  of  which  have  their 
effect  in  producing  this  disgusting,  as  well  as  unhandy 
and  awkward  extravagance  in  civilized  society. 

Ish-a-ro-ych  (he  who  carries  a  wolf),  and  Is-sa-wah-tam-ah 
(the  wolf  tied  with  hair),  are  also  chiefs  of  some  .standing  iu 
the  tribe,  and  evidently  men  of  great  influence,  as  they 
were  put  forward  bj*  the  head  chiefs,  for  their  likenesses  to 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


499 


be  painted  in  turn,  after  their  own.  The  first  of  the  two 
seemed  to  be  the  leader  of  the  war-partj  which  we  met,  and 
of  which  I  have  spoken ;  and  in  escorting  us  to  their  village, 
this  man  took  the  lead  and  piloted  us  the  whole  way,  in 
consequence  of  which  Colonel  Dodge  presented  him  a  very 
fine  gun. 

His-oo-san-ches  (the  Spaniard),  a  gallant  little  fellow,  is 
represented  to  us  as  one  of  the  leading  warriors  of  the  tribe ; 
and  no  doubt  is  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  men  at 
present  living  in  these  regions.    He  is  half  Spanish,  and 
being  a  half-breed,  for  whom  they  generally  have  the  most 
contemptuous  feelings,  he  has  been  all  his  life  thrown  into 
the  front  of  battle  and  danger ;  at  which  posts  he  has  sig- 
nalized himself,  and  commanded  the  highest  admiration  and 
respect  of  the  tribe,  for  his  daring  and  adventurous  career. 
This  is  the  man  of  whom  I  have  before  spoken,  who  dashed 
out  so  boldly  from  the  war-party,  and  came  to  us  with  the 
white  flag  raised  on  the  point  of  his  lance.    I  have  repre- 
sented him  as  he  stood  for  me,  with  his  shield  on  his 
arm,  with  his  quiver  slung,  and  his  lance  of  fourteen  feet 
in  length  in  his  right  hand.    This  extraordinary  little  man 
whose  Sgure  was  light,  seemed  to  be  all  bone  and  muscle, 
and  exhibited  immense  power,  by  the  curve  of  the  bones  in 
his  legs  and  arms.    We  had  many  exhibitions  of  his  extra- 
ordinary strength,  as  well  as  agility ;  and  of  his  gentlemanly 
politeness  and  friendship,  we  had  as  frequent  evidences. 
As  an  instance  of  this,  I  will  recite  an  occurrence  which 
took  place  but  a  few  days  since,  when  we  were  moving  our 
encampment  to  a  more  desirable  ground  on  another  side  of 
their  village.    We  had  a  deep  and  powerful  stream  to  ford, 
when  we  had  several  men  who  were  sick,  and  obliged  to  be 
carried  on  litters.    My  friend  "  Joe"  and  I  came  up  in  the 
rear  of  the  regiment,  where  the  litters  with  the  sick  were 
passing,  and  we  found  this  little  fellow  up  to  his  chin  in 
the  muddy  water,  wading  and  carrying  one  end  of  each 
litter  on  his  head,  as  they  wore  in  turn,  passed  over.    After 
they  had  all  j)a3sed,  this  gallant  fellow  beckoned  to  me  to 


■1:  |-;  f  1 

111     il! 


500 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


dismount,  and  take  a  seat  on  his  shoulders,  which  I  de- 
clined ;  preferring  to  stick  to  my  horse's  back,  which  I  did, 
as  he  took  it  by  the  bridle  and  conducted  it  through  the 
shallowest  ford.  When  I  was  across,  I  took  from  my  belt 
a  handsome  knife  and  presented  it  to  him,  which  seemed  to 
please  him  very  much. 

Besides  the  above-named  chie*3  and  warriors,  I  painted 
the  portrait  of  Kots-o-ho-ro-ho  (the  hair  of  the  bull's  neck) ; 
and  Hdh-nee  (the  beaver) ;  the  first,  a  chief;  the  second,  a 
warrior  of  terrible  aspect,  and  also  of  considerable  distinc- 
tion. 

From  what  I  have  already  seen  of  the  Camanchees,  I  am 
fully  convinced  that  they  are  a  numerous  and  very  powerful 
tribe  and  quite  equal  in  numbers  and  prowess,  to  the 
accounts  generally  given  of  them. 

It  is  entirely  impossible  at  present  to  make  a  correct 
estimate  of  their  numbers ;  but  taking  their  own  account  of 
villages  they  point  to  in  such  numbers.  South  of  the  banks 
of  the  Red  River,  as  well  as  those  that  lie  farther  West 
and  undoubtedly  North  of  its  banks,  they  must  be  a  very 
numerous  tribe ;  and  I  think  I  am  able  to  say,  from  esti- 
mates that  these  chiefs  have  made  me,  that  they  number 
some  thirty  or  forty  thousand — being  able  to  show  somo 
six  or  seven  thousand  warriors,  well-mounted  and  well- 
armed.  This  estimate  I  offer  not  as  conclusive,  for  so 
little  is  as  yet  known  of  these  people,  that  no  estimate  can 
be  implicitly  relied  upon  other  than  that,  which  in  general 
terms,  pronounces  them  to  bo  a  very  numerous  and 
warlike  tribe. 

We  shall  leam  much  more  of  them  before  we  get  out  of 
their  country ;  and  I  trust  that  it  will  yet  be  in  my  power 
to  give  something  like  a  fair  census  of  them  before  we  have 
done  with  them. 

They  speak  much  of  their  allies  and  friends,  the  Pawnee 
Picts,  living  to  the  West  some  three  or  four  days'  march, 
whom  we  are  going  to  visit  in  a  few  days,  and  afterwards 
return  to  this  village,  and  then  "bend  our  course"  home- 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


501 


ward,  or,  in  otlier  words,  back  to  Fort  Gibson.  Besides 
the  Pawnee  Picts,  there  are  the  Kiowas  and  Wicos ;  small 
tribes  that  live  in  the  same  vicinity,  and  also  in  the  same 
alliance,  whom  we  shall  probably  see  on  our  march.  Every 
preparation  is  now  making  to  be  off  in  a  few  days — and  I 
shall  omit  further  remarks  on  the  Camanchees,  until  we 
return,  when  I  shall  probably  have  much  more  to  relate  of 
them  and  their  customs.  So  many  of  the  men  and  officers 
are  getting  sick,  that  the  little  command  will  be  very  much 
crippled,  from  the  necessity  we  shall  be  under,  of  leaving 
about  thirty  sick,  and  about  an  equal  number  of  well  to 
take  care  of  and  protect  them ;  for  which  purpose,  we  are 
constructing  a  fort,  with  a  sort  of  breastwork  of  timbers 
and  bushes,  which  will  be  ready  in  a  day  or  two ;  and  the 
sound  part  of  the  command  prepared  to  start  with  several 
Caraanchee  leaders  who  have  agreed  to  pilot  the  way. 


!!.' 


i 


ii 


CA1UNCBEE8  PLUNDEBIXO. 

LETTER  No.  XLilL 
GREAT  CAMANCHEE  VILLAGE. 

TnE  above  Letter  it  will  be  seen,  was  written  some  time 
ago,  and  when  all  hands  (save  those  who  were  too  sick) 
were  on  the  start  for  the  Pawnee  village.  Amongst  those 
exceptions  was  I,  before  the  hour  of  starting  had  arrived ; 
and  as  the  dragoons  have  made  their  visit  there  and  returned 
in  a  most  jaded  condition,  and  I  have  again  got  well  enough 
to  write,  I  will  render  some  account  of  the  excursion,  which 
is  from  the  pen  and  the  pencil  of  my  friend  Joe,  who  went 
with  them  and  took  my  sketch  and  note-books  in  hia 
pocket. 

"  We  were  four  days  travelling  over  a  beautiful  country, 
most  of  the  way  prairie,  and  generally  along  near  the  base 
of  a  stupendous  range  of  mountains  of  reddish  granite,  in 
(502) 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


603 


many  places  piled  up  to  an  immense  height  without  tree  or 
shrubbery  on  them ;  looking  as  if  they  had  actually  dropped 
from  the  clouds  in  such  a  confused  mass,  and  all  lay  where 
they  had  fallen.  Such  we  found  the  mountains  enclosing 
the  Pawnee  village,  on  the  bank  of  Red  River,  about  ninety 
miles  from  the  Camanchee  town.  The  dragoon  regiment 
was  drawn  up  within  half  a  mile  or  so  of  this  village,  and 
encamped  in  a  square,  where  we  remained  three  days.  We 
found  here  a  very  numerous  village,  containing  somo  five 
or  six  hundred  wigwams,  all  made  of  long  prairie  grass, 
thatched  over  poles,  which  are  fastened  in  the  ground  and 
bent  in  at  the  top;  giving  to  them,  in  distance,  the 
appearance  of  straw  bee-hives. 

"To  our  very  great  surprise,  we  have  found  these  people 
cultivating  quite  extensive  fields  of  corn  (maize),  pumpkins, 
melons,  beans  and  squashes ;  so,  with  these  aids,  and  aiu 
abundant  supply  of  buffalo  meat,  they  may  be  said  to  be 
living  very  well. 

"The  next  day  after  our  arrival  here.  Colonel  Dodge 
opened  a  council  with  the  chiefs,  in  the  chiefs  lodge,  where 
he  had  the  most  of  his  ofiicers  around  him.  He  first  ex- 
plained to  them  the  friendly  views  with  which  he  came  to 
see  them ;  and  of  the  wish  of  our  Government  to  establish 
a  lasting  peace  with  them,  which  they  seemed  at  once  to 
appreciate  and  highly  to  estimate. 

"  The  head  chief  of  the  tribe  is  a  very  old  man,  and  he 
several  times  replied  to  Colonel  Dodge  in  a  very  eloquent 
manner ;  assuring  him  of  the  friendly  feelings  of  his  chiefs 
and  warriors  towards  the  pale  faces,  in  the  direction  from 
whence  we  came. 

"  After  Colonel  Dodge  had  explained  in  general  terms, 
the  objects  of  our  visit,  he  told  them  that  he  should  expect 
from  them  some  account  of  the  foul  murder  of  Judge 
Martin  and  Ids  family  on  the  False  "iVashita,  which  had 
been  perpetrated  but  a  few  weeks  before,  and  which  tho 
Camanchees  had  told  us  was  done  by  the  Pawnee  Picts. 
The  Colonel  told  them,  also,  that  he  learned  from  tho 


ii^^K. 


A' 


mmnrM 


"'M 


■{■■•fm'^ 


f 


}(■ 


i 


604 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


Camanchees,  that  they  had  the  little  boy,  the  son  of  the 
murdered  gentleman,  in  their  possession  ;  and  that  he 
should  expect  them  to  deliver  him  up,  as  an  indispensable 
condition  of  the  friendly  arrangement  that  was  now  maklhw. 
They  positively  denied  the  fact,  and  all  knowledge  of  it  • 
firmly  assuring  us  that  they  knew  nothing  of  the  murder 
or  of  the  boy.  The  demand  was  repeatedly  made,  and  as 
often  denied ;  until  at  length  a  negro-man  was  discovered 
who  was  living  with  the  Pawnees,  who  spoke  good 
English ;  and  coming  into  the  council-house,  gave  infor- 
mation that  such  a  boy  had  recently  been  brought  into 
their  village,  and  was  now  a  prisoner  amongst  them.  This 
excited  great  surprise  and  indignation  in  the  council,  and 
Colonel  Dodge  then  informed  the  chiefs  that  the  council 
would  rest  here ;  and  certainly  nothing  further  of  a 
peaceable  nature  would  transpire  until  the  boy  was 
brought  in.  In  this  alarming  dilemma,  all  remained  in 
gloomy  silence  for  awhile;  when  Colonel  Dodge  further 
informed  the  chiefs,  that  as  an  evidence  of  his  friendly 
intentions  towards  them,  he  had,  on  starting,  purchased  at 
a  very  great  price,  from  their  enemies  the  Osages,  two 
Pawnee  (and  ouo  Kiowa)  girls ;  which  had  been  held  by 
them  for  some  years  as  prisoners,  and  which  he  had 
brought  the  whole  way  home,  and  had  here  ready  to  be 
delivered  to  their  friends  and  relations ;  but  whom  he 
certainly  would  never  show,  until  the  little  boy  was  pro- 
duced, lie  also  made  another  demand,  which  was  for  the 
restoration  of  an  United  States  ranger,  by  the  name  of 
Abbd,  who  had  been  captured  by  them  during  the  summer 
before.  They  acknowledged  the  seizure  of  this  man,  and 
all  solemnly  declared  that  he  had  been  taken  by  a  party 
of  the  Camanchees,  over  whom  they  had  no  control,  and 
carried  beyond  the  Red  River  into  the  Mexican  provinces, 
where  he  was  put  to  death.  They  held  a  long  consultation 
about  the  boy,  and  seeing  their  plans  defeated  by  the 
evidence  of  the  negro ;  and  also  being  convinced  of  the 
friendly  disposition  of  the  Colonel,  by  bringing  home  their 


NORTH  AMBRICAK  INDIANS. 


505 


j)risoners  from  the  Osages,  they  sent  out  and  had  the  boy 
brought  in  from  the  middle  of  a  corn-field,  where  ho  had 
been  secreted.  He  is  a  smart  and  ^  y  intelligent  boy  of 
nine  years  of  age,  and  when  he  came  in,  he  was  entirely 
naked,  as  they  keep  their  own  boys  at  that  age.  There 
was  a  great  excitement  in  the  council  when  the  little  fellow 
was  brought  in ;  and  as  he  passed  amongst  them,  he  looked 
around  and  exclaimed,  with  some  surprise,  "What I  are 
there  white  men  here  ?"  to  which  Colonel  Dodge  replied, 
and  asked  his  name ;  and  he  promptly  answered,  "  my 
name  is  Matthew  Wright  Martin."  He  was  then  received 
into  Colonel  Dodge's  arms ;  and  an  order  was  immediately 
given  for  the  Pawnee  and  Kiowa  girls  to  be  brought 
forward;  they  were  in  a  few  minutes  brought  into  the 
council-house,  when  they  were  at  once  recognized  by  their 
friends  and  relatives,  who  embraced  them  with  the  most 
extravagant  expressions  of  joy  and  satisfaction.  The  heart 
of  the  venerable  old  chief  was  melted  at  this  evidence  of 
white  man's  friendship,  and  he  rose  upon  his  feet,  and 
taking  Colonel  Dodge  in  his  arms,  and  placing  his  left 
cheek  against  the  left  cheek  of  the  Colonel,  held  him  for 
some  minutes  without  saying  a  word,  whilst  tears  were 
flowing  from  his  eyes.  He  then  embraced  each  officer  in 
turn,  in  the  same  silent  and  affectionate  manner;  which 
form  took  half  an  hour  or  more,  before  it  was  completed.* 

"  From  this  moment  the  council,  which  before  had  been 
a  very  grave  and  uncertain  one,  took  a  pleasing  and 
friendly  turn.  And  this  excellent  old  man  ordered  the 
women  to  supply  the  dragoons  with  something  to  eat,  as 
they  were  hungry. 

"The  little  encampment,  which  heretofore  was  in  a 

*  The  little  boy  of  whom  I  have  spoken,  was  brought  in,  the  whole 
distance  to  Fort  Gibson,  in  the  arms  of  the  dragoons,  who  took  turns  in 
carrying  him ;  and  after  the  command  arrived  there,  he  was  transmitted 
to  the  Red  River,  by  an  officer,  who  had  the  enviable  satisfaction  of 
delivering  him  into  the  arms  of  his  disconsolate  and  half-distracted 
mother. 


'  "'i 


J 


806 


LETTKBS  AXD  NOTES  ON  THE 


woeful  condition,  having  eaten  up  tbeir  last  rntions  twelve 
hours  before,  were  now  gladdened  by  the  approach  of  a 
number  of  women,  who  brought  their  '  back-loads'  of  dried 
buffalo  meat  and  green  corn,  and  threw  it  down  amongst 
them.  This  seemed  almost  like  a  providential  deliverance 
for  the  country  between  hero  and  the  Camancheea,  was 
entirely  destitute  of  game,  and  our  last  provisions  were 
consumed. 

"  The  council  thus  proceeded  successfully  and  pleasantly 
for  several  days,  whilst  the  warriors  of  the  Kiowaa  and 
"Wicos,  two  adjoining  and  friendly  tribes,  living  further  to 
the  West,  were  arriving ;  and  also  a  great  many  from  other 
bands  of  the  Camancliees,  who  had  heard  of  our  arrival ; 
until  two  thousand  or  more  of  these  wild  and  fearless- 
looking  fellows  were  assembled,  and  all,  from  their  horses' 
backs,  with  weapons  in  hand,  were  looking  into  our  pitiful 
little  encampment,  of  two  hundred  men,  all  in  a  state  of 
dependence  and  almost  literal  starvation ;  and  at  the  same 
time  nearly  one-half  the  number  too  sick  to  have  made  a 
successftil  resistance  if  we  were  to  have  been  attacked." 
«*«»«*«« 

The  command  returned  to  this  village  after  an  absence 
of  fifteen  days,  in  a  fatigued  and  destitute  condition,  with 
scarcely  anything  to  eat,  or  chance  of  getting  anything 
here;  in  consequence  of  which,  Colonel  Dodge  almost 
instantly  ordered  preparations  to  be  made  for  a  move  to 
the  head  of  the  Canadian  river,  a  distance  of  an  hundred  or 
more  miles,  where  the  Indians  represented  to  us  there 
woidd  be  found  immense  herds  of  buffaloes ;  a  place  whore 
we  could  get  enough  to  eat,  and  by  lying  by  awhile,  could 
restore  the  sick,  who  are  now  occupying  a  great  number  of 
litters.  Some  days  have  elapsed,  however,  and  we  are  not 
quite  ready  for  the  start  yet.  And  during  that  time,  con- 
tinual parties  of  the  Pawnee  Picts  and  Kioways  have  come 
up ;  and  also  Camanchees,  from  other  villages,  to  get  a 
look  at  us,  and  many  of  them  arc  volunteering  to  go  in 
with  us  to  the  frontier. 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


607 


The  world  who  know  me,  will  see  that  I  can  scarcely  bo 
idle  under  such  circumstances  as  these,  where  so  many 
subjects  for  my  brush  and  my  pen  are  gathering  about  me. 
(See  Frontispiece.) 

The  Pawnee  Picts,  Kioways,  and  Wicos  are  tbe  subjects 
that  I  nm  most  closely  scanning  at  this  moment,  and  I  have 
materials  enough  around  me.  ' 

The  Pawnee  Picts  are  undoubtedly  a  numerous  and 
powerful  tribe,  occupying,  with  the  Kioways  and  "Wicos,  the 
whole  country  on  the  head  waters  of  the  Red  River,  and 
(juite  into  and  through  the  southern  part  of  the  Rocky. 
Mountains.  The  old  chief  told  mo  by  signs,  enumerating 
with  his  hands  and  fingers,  that  they  had  altogether  three 
thousand  warriors ;  which,  if  true,  estimating  according  to 
the  usual  rule,  one  warrior  to  four,  would  make  the  whole 
number  about  twelve  thousand;  and,  allowing  a  fair  per- 
centage for  boasting  or  bragging,  of  which  they  are 
generally  a  little  guilty  in  such  cases,  there  would  be  a  fair 
calculation  from  eight  to  ten  thousand.  These,  then,  in  an 
established  u  liance  with  the  great  tribe  of  Camanohees, 
hunting  and  feasting  together,  and  ready  to  join  in  common 
defence  of  their  country,  become  a  very  formidable  enemy 
when  attacked  on  their  own  ground. 

The  name  of  the  Pawnee  Picts,  we  find  to  be  in  their  own 
language,  Tow-ee-ahge,  the  meaning  of  which  I  have  not 
yet  learned.  I  have  ascertained  also,  that  these  people  are 
in  no  way  related  to  the  Pawnees  of  the  Platte,  who  reside 
a  thousand  miles  or  more  North  of  them,  and  know  them 
only  as  enemies.  There  is  no  family  or  tribal  resemblance ; 
nor  any  in  their  language  or  customs.  The  Pawnees  of  the 
Platte  shave  the  head,  and  the  Pawnee  Picts  abominate  the 
custom  ',  allowing  their  hair  to  grow  like  the  Camanchees 
and  other  tribes. 

The  old  chief  of  the  Pawnee  Picts,  of  whom  I  have  before 
spoken,  and  whose  name  is  We-ta-ra-sho-ro,  is  undoubtedly 
a  very  excellent  and  kind-hearted  old  man,  of  ninety  or 
more  years  of  age,  and  has  consented  to  accompany  as,  with 


■  *'  lull 

■  .V,-,  (■■    '•- 

•A 


I  Hi 


n 


I 


!;  I- 


508 


LETTEBS   AND  NOTES  OX  TAB 


a  large  party  of  his  people,  to  Fort  Gibson  ;  where  Colonel 
Dodge  has  promised  to  return  him  liberal  presents  from 
the  Government,  for  the  friendship  ho  has  evinced  on  th© 
present  occasion. 

The  second  chief  of  this  trioo,  Sky-se-ro-ka,  we  found  to 
be  a  remarkably  clever  man,  and  much  approved  and 
and  valued  in  his  tribe. 

The  Pawnee  Plots,  as  well  as  the  Camanchees,  are 
generally  a  very  clumsy  and  ordinary  looking  set  of  men, 
when  on  their  feet ;  but  being  fine  horsemen,  are  equally 
improved  in  appearance  as  soon  as  they  mount  upon  their 
horses'  backs. 

Amongst  the  women  of  this  tribe,  there  were  many  that 
were  exceedingly  pretty  in  feature  and  in  form ;  and  also 
in  expression,  though  their  skins  are  very  dark.  The  dress 
of  the  men  in  this  tribe,  as  amongst  the  Camanchees,  con- 
sists generally  in  leggings  of  dressed  skins,  and  moccasins ; 
with  a  flap  or  breech-clout,  made  also  of  dressed  skins  or 
furs,  and  often  very  beautifully  ornamented  with  shells,  &c. 
Above  the  waist  they  seldom  wear  any  drapery,  owing  to 
the  warmth  of  the  climate,  which  will  rarely  justify  it ;  and 
their  heads  are  generally  uncovered  with  a  head-dress,  like 
the  Northern  tribes  who  live  in  a  colder  climate,  and 
actually  require  them  for  comfort. 

The  women  of  the  Camanchees  and  Pawnee  Picts,  are 
always  decently  and  comfortably  clad,  being  covered 
generally  with  a  gown  or  slip,  that  reaches  from  the  chin 
quite  down  to  the  ancles,  made  of  deer  or  elk  skins ;  often 
garnished  very  prettily,  and  ornamented  with  long  fringes 
of  elk's  teeth,  which  are  fastened  on  them  in  rows,  and 
mr  re  highly  valued  than  any  other  ornament  they  can  put 
upon  them. 

The  Kioways  are  a  much  finer  looking  race  of  men,  than 
either  the  Camanchees  or  Pawnees — are  tall  and  erect,  with 
an  easy  and  graceful  gait — with  long  hair,  cultivated  often- 
times so  as  to  reach  nearly  to  the  ground.  They  have 
generally  the  fine  and  Roman  outline  of  head,  that  is  so 


NORTU   AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


609 


frequently  found  at  tho  North, — and  decidedly  distinct 
from  that  of  the  Camanchces  and  Pawnee  Picts.  These 
men  speak  a  language  distinct  from  both  of  the  others ; 
and  iu  fact,  tho  Caraanchees  and  Pawnee  Picts — and 
Kioways,  and  Wicos,  are  all  so  distinctly  different  in  their 
languages,  as  to  appear  in  that  res^pect  as  total  strangers  t'* 
each  other.  * 

The  head  chief  of  the  Kioways,  whose  name  is  Teh-toot- 
sah,  we  found  to  be  a  very  gentlemanly  and  high-minded 
man,  who  treated  the  dragoons  and  officers  with  great 
kindness  while  in  his  country.  His  long  hair  which  was 
put  up  in  several  large  clubs,  and  ornamented  with  a  great 
many  silver  brooches,  extended  quite  down  to  his  knees. 
This  distinguished  man,  as  well  as  several  others  of  his 
tribe,  have  agreed  to  join  us  on  the  march  to  Fort  Gibson ; 
so  I  shall  have  much  of  their  company  yet,  and  probably 
much  more  to  say  of  them  at  a  future  period.  Bon-son-gee 
(the  new  fire),  is  another  chief  of  this  tribe,  and  called  a 
very  good  man  ;  the  principal  ornaments  which  he  carried 
on  his  person  were  a  boar's  tusk  and  his  war-whistle,  which 
were  hanging  on  his  breast. 

• 

*  I  hare  several  times,  in  former  parts  of  this  work,  spoken  of  tho 
great  number  of  difTerent  Indian  langnages  which  I  have  visited,  and 
given  my  opinion,  as  to  the  dissimilarity  and  distinctness  of  their 
character.  And  would  refer  the  reader  for  further  information  on  this 
subject,  as  well  as  for  vocabulary  of  several  langnages,  to  the  Appendix 
to  this  Volume,  letter  B. 


;vi 


i4i 


It 


LETTER  No.  XLIV. 

CAMP  CANADIAN,  TEXAS. 

Six  days  of  severe  travelling  have  brought  us  from  the 
Camanchee  village  to  the  north  bank  of  the  Canadian, 
where  we  are  snugly  encamped  on  a  beautiful  plain,  and 
in  the  midst  of  countless  numbers  of  bufiiilocs ;  and  halt- 
ing a  few  days  to  recruit  our  horses  and  men,  and  dry  meat 
to  last  us  the  remainder  of  our  journey. 

The  plains  around  this,  for  many  miles,  seem  actually 
speckled  in  distance,  and  in  every  direction,  with  herds  of 
grazing  bufTalocs ;  and  for  several  days,  the  ofTicers  and 
men  have  been  indulged  in  a  general  license  to  gratify 
their  sporting  propensities ;  and  a  scene  of  bustle  and  cruel 
(510) 


'.-Uj'j 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


511 


slaughter  it  has  been,  to  be  sure  1  From  morning  till  night, 
the  camp  has  been  daily  almost  deserted ;  the  men  have 
dispersed  in  little  squads  in  all  directions,  and  are  dealing 
death  to  these  poor  creatures  to  a  most  cruel  and  wanton 
extent,  merely  for  the  pleasure  of  destroying,  generally 
without  stopping  to  cut  out  the  meat.  During  yesterday 
and  this  day,  several  hundreds  have  undoubtedly  been 
killed,  and  not  so  much  as  the  flesh  of  half  a  dozen  used. 
Such  immense  swarms  of  them  are  sprec''  over  this  tract 
of  country ;  and  so  divided  and  terrified  have  they  become, 
finding  their  enemies  in  all  directions  where  they  run,  that 
the  poor  beasts  seem  completely  bewildered — running  here 
and  there,  and  as  often  as  otherwise,  come  singly  advancing 
to  the  horsemen,  as  if  to  join  them  for  their  company,  and 
are  easily  shot  down.  In  the  turmoil  and  confusion,  when 
their  assailants  have  been  pushing  them  forward,  they  have 
galloped  through  our  encampment,  jumping  over  our  fires, 
upsetting  pots  and  kettles,  driving  horses  from  their  fasten- 
ings, and  throwing  the  whole  encampment  into  the  greatest 
instant  consternation  and  alarm.  The  hunting  fever  will  be 
satiated  in  a  few  days  amongst  the  young  men,  who  are 
well  enough  to  take  parts  in  the  chase ;  and  the  bilious 
fever,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  will  be  abated  in  a  short  time, 
amongst  those  who  are  invalid,  and  meat  enough  will  be 
dried  to  last  us  to  Fort  Gibson,  when  we  shall  be  on  the 
march  again,  and  wending  our  way  towards  that  garrison. 
Many  are  now  sick  and  unable  to  ride,  and  are  carried 
on  Utters  between  two  horses.  Nearly  every  tent  belonging 
to  the  officers  has  been  converted  into  hospitals  for  the  sick ; 
and  sighs  and  groaning  are  heard  in  all  directions.  From 
the  Camanchee  village  to  this  place,  the  country  has  been 
entirely  prairie  ;  and  most  of  the  way  high  and  dry  ground, 
without  water,  for  which  we  sometimes  suffered  very  much. 
From  day  to  day  we  have  dragged  along  exposed  to  the 
hot  and  burning  rays  of  the  sun,  without  a  cloud  to  relievo 
its  intensity,  or  a  bush  to  shade  us,  or  anything  to  cast  a 
shadow,  except  the  bodies  of  our  horses.    The  grass,  for  a 


t,  ..j-i 


612 


LETTERS   A.ND  XOTES  ON  THE 


great  part  of  the  way,  was  very  much  dried  up,  scarcely 
affording  a  bite  for  our  horses;  and  sometimes  for  the 
distance  of  many  miles,  the  only  water  we  could  find,  was 
in  stagnant  pools,  lying  on  the  highest  ground,  in  which 
the  buffaloes  have  been  lying  and  wallowing  like  hogs  in  a 
mud-puddle.  "We  frequently  came  t6  these  dirty  layers 
from  which  we  drove  the  herds  of  wallowing  bufialoes,  and 
into  which  our  poor  and  almost  dying  horses,  irresistibly 
ran  and  plunged  their  noses,  sucking  up  the  dirty  and 
poisonous  draught,  until,  in  some  instances,  they  fell  dead 
in  their  tracts — the  men  also  (and  oftentimes  amongst  the 
number,  the  writer  of  these  lines)  sprang  from  their  horses 
and  ladled  up  and  drank  to  almost  fatal  excess,  the  dis- 
gusting and  tepid  draught,  and  with  it  filled  their  canteens 
which  were  slung  to  their  sides,  and  from  which  they  were 
sucking  the  bilious  contents  during  the  day. 

In  our  march  we  found  many  deep  ravines,  in  the  bottom 
of  which  there  were  the  marks  of  wild  and  powerful 
streams ;  but  in  this  season  of  drought  they  were  all  dried 
up,  except  an  occasional  one,  where  we  found  them  dash- 
ing along  in  the  coolest  and  clearest  manner,  and  on  trial, 
to  our  great  agony  so  salt  that  even  our  horses  could  not 
drink  from  them ;  so  we  bad  occasionally  the  tantalizing 
pleasure  of  hearing  the  roar  of,  and  looking  into,  the 
clearest  and  most  sparkling  streams;  and  after  that  the  dire 
necessity  of  drinking  from  stagnant  pools  which  lay  from 
month  to  month  exposed  to  the  rays  of  the  sun,  till  their 
waters  become  po  poisonous  and  heavy,  from  the  loss  of 
their  vital  principal,  that  they  are  neither  diminished  by 
absorption,  nor  taken  into  the  atmosphere  by  evaporation. 

This  poisonous  and  indigestible  water,  with  the  intense 
rays  of  the  sun  in  the  hottest  part  of  the  summer,  is  the 
cause  of  the  unexampled  sickness  of  the  horses  and  men. 
Both  appear  to  be  suffering  and  dying  with  the  same 
disease,  a  slow  and  distressing  bilious  fever,  which  seems 
to  terminate  in  a  most  frightful  and  fatal  affection  of  the 
liver. 


ircely 
r  tlie 
1,  waa 
which 
;8  in  a 
lavers, 
33,  and 
iistihly 
•ty  and 
;11  dead 
igat  tho 
•  horses, 
the  dis- 
lanteens, 
aey  were 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIAN3. 


513 


In  these  several  cruel  days'  march,  I  have  suffered 
severely,  having  had  all  the  time  (and  having  yet)  a  dis- 
tracting fover  on  me.  My  real  friend,  Joe,  has  constantly 
rode  by  my  side,  dismounting  and  filling  my  canteen 
for  mo,  and  picking  up  minerals  or  fossils,  which  my  jaun- 
diced eyes  were  able  to  discover  as  we  were  passing 
over  them;  or  doing  other  kind  offices  for  me,  when  I 
was  too  weak  to  mount  my  horse  without  aid.  During 
this  march  over  these  dry  and  parched  plains,  we  picked 
up  many  curious  things  of  the  fossil  and  mineral  kind, 
and  besides  them  a  number  of  the  horned  frogs.  In  our 
portmanteau  we  had  a  number  of  tin  boxes  in  which  we 
had  carried  Seidlitz  powders,  in  which  we  caged  a  number 
of  them  safely,  in  hopes  to  carry  them  home  alive.  Several 
remarkable  specimens  my  friend  Joe  has  secured  of  these, 
wit'i  the  horns  of  half  and  three-fourths  of  an  inch  in  length, 
and  vcv  sharp  at  the  points. 

Tht'St  'rous  subjects  have  so  often  fallen  under  my 
eye  wht  i  lie  Upper  Missouri,  that  with  me,  they  have 
lost  the.,  xovelty  in  a  great  degree;  but  they  have  amused 
and  astonished  my  friend  Chadwick  so  much,  that  he 
declares  he  will  take  every  one  he  can  pick  up,  and  make 
a  sensation  with  them  when  he  gets  home.  In  this  way 
Joo's  fancy  for  horned  frogs  has  grown  into  a  sort  oi  frog- 
mania,  and  his  eyes  are  strained  all  day,  and  gazing 
amongst  the  grass  and  pebbles  as  he  rides  along,  for  his 
precious  little  prizes,  which  he  occasionally  picks  up  and 
consigns  to  his  pockets.  * 

On  one  of  these  hard  day's  march,  and  just  at  night, 
whilst  we  were  looking  out  for  water,  and  a  suitable  place 
to  encamp,  Joe  and  I  galloped  off  a  mile  or  two  to  the  right 
of  the  regiinoiit,  to  a  point  of  timber,  to  look  for  water, 

where  we  found  a  small  and  sunken  stagnant  pool ;  and  as 

*  Several  months  after  this,  when  I  visited  my  friend  Joe's  room  in 
St.  Louis,  he  shewed  me  his  horned  frogs  in  their  little  tin  boxes,  in 
good  flt>sh  and  good  condition,  where  they  had  existed  several  months, 
without  food  of  any  kind. 

33 


\w 


^i 


'''ti**4» 


,'il'  '<  ■         (.9 


5U 


I.ETIERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


our  horses  plunged  their  feet  into  it  to  drink,  we  saw,  to 
our  great  surprise,  a  number  of  frogs  hopping  across  its 
surface,  as  our  horses  started  them  from  the  shore  1  Several 
of  them  stopped  iu  the  middle  of  the  pool,  sitting  quite 
**  high  and  dry"  on  the  surface  of  the  water ;  and  when  wo 
approached  them  nearer,  or  jostled  them,  they  made  a  leap 
into  the  air,  and  coming  down  head  foremost,  went  under 
the  water  and  secreted  themselves  at  the  bottom,  Ilere  was 
a  subject  for  Joe,  in  his  own  line !  frogs  with  horns,  and 
frogs  with  wchhed  feet,  that  could  hop  about,  and  sit  upon, 
the  surfiice  of  the  water !  We  rode  around  the  pool  and 
drove  a  number  of  them  into  it,  and  fearing  that  it  would 
be  useless  to  try  to  get  one  of  them  that  evening ;  we  rode 
back  to  the  encampment,  exulting  very  much  in  the 
curious  discovery  we  had  made  for  the  naturalists ;  and  by 
relating  to  some  of  the  officers  what  we  had  seen,  got 
excessively  laughed  at  for  our  wonderful  discovery  ! 
Nevertheless,  Joe  and  I  could  not  disbelieve  what  we  Lad 
seen  so  distinctly  "with  our  own  eye3;",and  we  took  to 
ourselves  (or  in  other  words,  I  acquiesced  in  Joe's  taking 
to  himself,  as  it  was  so  peculiarly  in  his  line)  the  most 
unequivocal  satisfaction  in  the  curious  and  undoubted  dis- 
covery of  this  new  variety ;  and  we  made  our  arrangements 
to  ride  back  to  the  spot  before  "  bugle  calV  in  the  morning; 
and  by  a  thorough  effort,  to  obtain  a  specimen  or  two  of 
the  web-footed  frogs  for  Joe's  pocket,  to  be  by  him 
introduced  to  the  consideration  of  the  knowing  ones  ia  the 
East.  Well,  our  horses  were  saddled  at  an  early  hour,  and 
Joe  and  I  were  soon  on  the  spot — and  he  with  a  handker- 
chief at  tlie  end  of  a  little  pole,  with  which  he  had  made  a 
sort  of  scoop-net,  soon  dipped  one  up  as  it  was  hopping 
along  on  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  making  unsuccessful 
efforts  to  dive  through  its  surface.  On  examining  its  feet 
w^c  found,  to  our  very  great  surprise,  that  we  had  taken 
a  great  deal  of  pains  to  entrap  an  old  and  familiar  little 
acquaintance  of  our  boyhood  ;  but  somewhat  like  ourselves, 
unfortunately,  from   dire  necessity,  driven  to  a  loathsome 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


515 


aw,  to 

OSS  its 

ieveral  1! 

quite  i 

hen  we  ! 

J  a  leap  ' 

b  under 

ere  was 

rns,  and 

iit  upon, 

pool  and 

it  would 
we  rode 

1  in  the 

i;  and  by 

seen,  got 

iscovery  ! 

at  we  bad 

re  to-)k  to 

)e's  taking 

)  the  most 

mbted  dis- 

•angementa 

J  morning; 
or  two  of 

,e   by  bim 
ones  in  the 

Y  hour,  and 
a  haudkcr- 
had  made  a 
as  hopping 
unsuccessful 
iiing  its  toot 
c  had  taken 
amiliar  litllo 
ike  ourselves, 
a  loathso'-ne 


pool,  where  the  water  was  so  foul  and  slimy,  that  it  could 
hop  aiid  dance  about  its  surface  with  dry  feet ;  and  where 
it  oftentimes  found  difficulty  in  diving  through  the  surface 
to  hide  itself  at  the  bottom. 

I  laughed  a  great  deal  at  poor  Joe's  most  cruel  expense, 
and  we  amused  ourselves  a  few  minutes  about  this  filthy 
and  curious  pool,  and  rode  back  to  the  encampment.  We 
found  by  taking  the  water  up  in  the  hollow  of  the  hand, 
and  dipping  the  finger  in  it,  and  drawing  it  over  the  side, 
thus  conducting  a  little  of  it  out ;  it  was  so  slimy  that  the 
whole  would  run  over  the  side  of  the  hand  in  a  moment  1 

We  were  joked  and  teased  a  great  deal  about  our  web- 
footed  frogs  ;  and  after  this,  poor  Joe  has  had  repeatedly  to 
take  out  and  exhibit  his  little  pets  in  his  pockets,  to 
convince  our  travelling  companions  that  frogs  sometimes 
actually  have  horns. 

Since  writing  the  above,  an  express  has  arrived  from 
the  encampment,  which  we  left  at  the  mouth  of  False 
Washita,  with  the  melancholy  tidings  of  the  death  of 
General  Leavenworth,  Lieutenant  M'Clure,  and  ten  or 
fifteen  of  the  men  left  at  that  place !  This  has  cast  a  gloom 
over  our  little  encampment  here,  and  seems  to  be  received 
as  a  fatal  foreboding  by  those  who  are  sick  with  the  same 
disease;  and  many  of  them,  poor  fellows,  with  scarce  a 
hope  left  now  for  their  recovery. 

It  seems  that  the  General  had  moved  on  our  trail  a  few 
days  after  we  left  the  Washita,  to  the  "  Cross  Timbers,"  a 
distance  of  fitly  or  sixty  miles,  where  his  disease  at  last 
terminated  his  existence ;  and  I  am  inclined  to  think,  as  I 
before  mentioned,  in  consequence  of  the  injury  he  sustained 
in  a  fall  from  his  horse  when  running  a  bufialo  calf.  My 
reason  for  believing  this,  is,  that  I  rode  and  ate  with  him 
every  day  after  the  hour  of  his  fall ;  and  from  that  moment 
I  was  quite  sure  tliat  I  saw  a  difTerent  expression  in  his 
face,  from  that  which  he  naturally  wore ;  and  when  riding 
by  the  side  of  him  two  or  three  days  after  his  fall,  I 
observed  to  him,  "General,  you  have  a  very  bad  cough" 


516 


LSTTEBS  AKD  NOTES. 


— "Yes,"  lie  replied,  "I  have  killed  myself  in  running  that 
devilish  calf;  and  it  was  a  very  lucky  thing,  Catlin,  that 
you  painted  the  portrait  of  me  before  we  started,  for  it  is 
all  that  my  dear  wife  will  ever  see  of  me." 

We  shall  be  on  the  move  again  in  a  few  days ;  and  I 
pWnly  see  that  I  shall  be  upon  a  litter,  unless  my  horrid 
fever  leaves  me,  which  is  daily  taking  away  my  strength, 
and  almost,  at  times,  my  senses.    Adieu  I 


(.. 


"1 


.'  ■'  .1 


LETTER  No.  XLV. 
FORT  GIBSON,  ARKANSAS. 


I     ••: 


The  last  Letter  was  written  from  my  tent,  and  out  upon 
the  wild  prairies,  when  I  was  shaken  and  terrified  by  a 
burning  fever,  with  home  and  my  dear  wife  and  little  one, 
two  thousand  miles  ahead  of  me,  whom  I  was  despairing  of 
ever  embracing  again.  I  am  now  scarcely  better  off,  except 
that  I  am  in  comfortable  quarters,  with  kind  attendance, 
and  friends  about  me.  I  am  yet  sick  and  very  feeble, 
having  been  for  several  weeks  upon  my  back  since  I  was 
brought  in  from  the  prairies.  I  am  slowly  recovering,  and 
for  the  first  time  since  I  wrote  from  the  Canadian,  able  to 
use  my  pen  or  my  brush. 

"We  drew  off  from  that  slaughtering  ground  a  few  days 
after  my  last  Letter  was  written,  with  a  great  number  sick, 
carried  upon  litters — with  horses  giving  out  and  dying  by 
the  way,  which  much  impeded  our  progress  over  the  long 
and  tedious  route  that  laid  between  us  and  Fort  Gibson. 
Fifteen  days,  however,  of  constant  toil  and  fatigue  brought 
us  here,  but  in  a  most  crippled  condition.  Many  of  the 
sick  were  left  by  the  way  with  attendants  to  take  care  of 
them,  others  were  buried  from  their  litters  on  which  they 

(517) 


mf\^'y 


•  i    ' 


»4 
II 


518 


I<ETTER3  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


breathed  tlieir  last  while  travelling,  and  many  others  wero 
brought  in,  to  this  place,  merely  to  die  and  get  the 
privilege  of  a  decent  burial. 

^incc  the  very  day  of  our  start  into  that  country,  the 
men  have  been  continually  falling  sick,  and  Oii  tlieir  return 
of  those  who  are  alive,  there  are  not  well  ones  enough  to 
take  care  of  the  sick.  Many  are  yet  left  out  upon  the 
prairies,  and  of  those  that  have  been  brought  in,  and  quar- 
tered in  the  hospital,  with  the  soldiers  of  the  infantry 
regiment  stationed  here,  four  or  five  are  buried  daily ;  and 
as  an  equal  numbci'  from  the  9th  regiment  are  falling 
by  the  same  disease,  I  have  the  mournful  sound  of  "  Roslin 
Castle,"  with  muffled  drums,  passing  six  or  eight  times 
a-day  under  my  window,  to  the  buryingground,  which  is 
but  a  little  distance  in  ftont  of  my  room,  where  I  can  lay 
in  my  bed  and  see  every  poor  fellow  lowered  down  into  his 
silent  and  peaceful  habitation.  During  the  day  before 
yesterday,  no  less  than  eight  solemn  processions  visited 
that  insatiable  ground,  and  amongst  them  was  carried  the 
corpse  of  my  intimate  and  much-loved  friend  Lieutenant 
West,  who  was  aid-de-camp  to  General  Leavenworth,  on 
this  disastrous  campaign,  and  who  has  left  in  this  place  a 
worthy  and  distracted  widow,  with  her  little  ones  to  mourn 
for  his  untimely  end.  On  the  same  day  was  buried  also  the 
Prussian  Botanist,  a  most  excellent  and  scientific  gentleman, 
who  had  obtained  an  order  from  the  Secretary  at  War  to 
accompany  the  expedition  for  scientific  purposes.  He  had 
at  St.  Louis,  purchased  a  very  comfortable  dearborn  wagon, 
and  a  snug  span  of  little  horses  to  convey  himself  and  his 
servant  with  his  collection  of  plants,  over  the  prairies.  In 
this  he  travelled  in  company  with  the  regiment  from  St. 
Louis  to  Fort  Gibson,  some  five  or  six  hundred  miles,  am' 
from  that  to  the  False  Washita,  and  the  Cross  Timbers  and 
back  again.  In  this  Tour  he  had  made  an  immense,  and 
no  doubt,  very  valuable  collection  of  plants,  and  at  this 
place  had  been  for  some  weeks  iiidefUtigably  engaged  in 
cliaiiging  and  drying  them,  and  at  last,  fell  a  vi otim  to  the 


r 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


519 


disease  of  the  country,  which  seemed  to  have  made  an  easy 
conquest  of  him,  from  the  very  feeble  and  enervated  state 
he  was  evidently  in — that  of  pulmonary  consumption. 
This  fine,  gentlemanly  and  urbane,  excellent  man,  to  whom 
I  became  very  much  attached,  was  lodged  in  a  room  ad- 
joining to  mine,  where  he  died,  as  he  had  lived,  peaceably 
and  smiling,  and  that  when  nobody  knew  that  his  life  was 
in  immediate  danger.  The  surgeon  who  was  attending  me, 
(Dr.  Wright,)  was  sitting  on  my  bed-side  in  his  morning- 
call  at  my  room,  when  a  negro  boy,  who  alone  had  been 
left  in  the  room  with  him,  came  injio  my  apartment  and  said 
Mr.  Beyrich  was  dying — we  instantly  stepped  into  his  room 
and  found  him,  not  in  the  agonies  of  death,  but  quietly 
breathing  his  last,  without  a  word  or  a  struggle,  as  he  had 
laid  himself  upon  his  bed  with  his  clothes  and  his  boots 
on.  In  this  way  perished  this  worthy  man,  who  had  no 
one  here  of  kindred  friends  to  drop  tears  for  him ;  and  on 
the  day  previous  to  his  misfortune,  died  also,  and  much  in 
the  same  way,  his  deviated  and  faithful  servant,  a  young 
man,  a  native  of  Germany.  Their  bodies  were  buried  by 
the  side  of  each  other,  and  a  general  feeling  of  deep  grief 
was  manifested  by  the  officers  and  citizens  of  the  post,  in 
the  respect  that  was  paid  to  their  remains  in  the  appropriate 
and  decent  committal  of  them  to  the  grave. 

After  leaving  the  head  waters  of  the  Canadian,  my  illness 
continually  increased,  and  losing  strength  every  day,  I  soon 
got  so  reduce  1  that  I  was  necessarily  lifted  on  to,  and  off 
from,  my  horse;  and  at  last,  so  that  I  could  not  ride  at  all. 
I  was  then  put  into  a  baggage  wagon  which  was  going  back 
empty,  except  with  several  soldiers  sick,  and  in  this  con- 
dition rode  eight  days,  most  of  the  time  in  a  delirious  state, 
lying  on  the  hard  planks  of  the  wagon,  and  made  still 
harder  by  the  jarring  and  jolting,  until  the  skin  from  my 
elbows  and  knees  was  literally  worn  through,  and  I  almost 
^^woi-n  out;^^  when  we  at  length  reached  this  post,  and  I 
was  taken  to  a  bed,  in  comfortable  quarters,  where  I  have 
had  the  skilful  attendance  of  ray  friend  and  old  schoolmate, 


''i'k'^ 


*"•  i 


iU 


r^ 


n 


52) 


I/.TIERS  AND  NOTEo   ON   THE 


Dr.  Wright,  uiulcr  whose  haada,  thank  God,  I  have  been 
rostore^l,  and  am  now  daily  recovering  my  flesh  and  usual 


strength. 


TRATELLINO  IN  A  BAQGAOB  WAQON. 

The  experiment  has  thus  been  made,  of  sending  an  army 
of  men  from  the  North,  into  this  Southern  and  warm 
climate,  in  the  hottest  rnonth.s  of  the  year,  of  July  and 
August;  and  from  this  sad  experiment  T  am  sure  a  secret 
will  be  learned  that  will  be  of  value  on  future  occasions. 


been 
usual 


|ng  an  army 
and  warm 
If  July  and 
lure  a  secret 
ioccasions. 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


621 


Of  the  four  hundred  and  fifty  fine  fellows  who  started 
from  this  place  four  months  since,  about  one-third  have 
already  died,  and  I  believe  many  more  there  are  whose  fates 
are  sealed,  and  will  yet  fall  victims  to  the  deadly  diseases 
contracted  in  that  fatal  country.  About  this  post  it  seems 
to  be  almost  equally  unhealthy,  and  generally  so  during 
this  season,  all  over  this  regioo.  which  is  probably  owing  to 
an  unusual  drought  which  has  been  visited  on  the  country 
and  unknown  heretofore  to  the  oldest  inhabitants. 

Since  we  came  in  from  the  prairies,  and  the  sickness  has 
a  little  abated,  wo  have  had  a  bustling  time  with  the 
Indians  at  this  place.  Colonel  Dodge  sent  runners  to  the 
chiefs  of  all  the  contiguous  tribes  of  Indians,  with  an  invi- 
tation to  meet  the  Pawnees,  &c.,  in  council,  at  this  place. 
Seven  or  eight  tribes  flocked  to  us,  in  great  numbers  on 
the  first  day  of  the  month,  when  the  council  commenced ; 
it  continued  for  several  days,  and  ravo  these  semi-civilized 
sons  of  the  forest  a  fair  opportunity  of  shaking  the  hands 
of  their  wild  and  untamed  red  brethren  of  the  "West — of 
embracing  them  in  their  arms,  with  expressions  of  friend- 
ship, and  of  smoking  the  calumet  together,  as  the  solemn 
pledge  of  lasting  peace  and  friendship. 

Colonel  Dodge,  Major  Armstrong  (tho  Indian  agent),  and 
General  Stokes  (the  Indian  commissioner),  presided  at  this 
council,  and  I  cannot  name  a  scene  more  interesting  and 
entertaining  than  it  was ;  where,  for  several  days  in  suc- 
cession, free  vent  was  given  to  the  feelings  of  men  civilized^ 
half -civilized,  and  ivild;  where  the  three  stages  of  man  were 
fearlessly  asserting  their  rights,  their  happiness,  and  friend- 
ship for  each  other.  The  vain  orations  of  the  half  polished 
(and  half-breed)  Cherokees  and  Choctaws,  with  all  their 
finery  and  art,  found  their  match  in  the  brief  and  jarring 
gutturals  of  the  wild  and  naked  man. 

After  the  council  had  adjourned,  and  the  fumes  of  the 
peace-making  calumet  had  vanished  away,  and  Colonel 
Dodge  had  made  them  addditional  presents,  they  soon 
made  preparations  for  their  departure,  and  on  the  next  day 


.''i^B 


■■h  I 


^ 


1 


1;! 


I 


'i^ 


522 


LKTTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  Tllfi 


8tar*cfl,  with  an  escort  of  dragoons,  for  their  own  country. 
This  movement  is  much  to  bo  regretted ;  for  it  would  have 
bjcn  exceedingly  gratifying  to  the  people  of  the  East  to 
have  seen  so  wild  a  group,  and  it  would  have  been  of  great 
service  to  them  to  have  visited  Washington — a  journey 
though,  which  they  could  not  be  prevailed  upon  to  inako. 


K8C0KT  or   DBAQ00N8. 


We  brought  with  us  to  this  place,  three  of  the  principal 
chicfe  of  the  Pawnees,  fifteen  Kioways,  one  Camanchee,  and 
one  Wico  chief.  The  group  was  undoubtedly  one  of  the 
most  interesting  that  ever  visited  our  frontier ;  and,  I  have 
taken  the  utmost  pains  in  painting  the  portraits  of  all  of 
them,  as  well  as  seven  of  the  Camanchee  chiefs,  who  came 
part  of  the  way  with  us,  and  turned  back.  These  portraits, 
together  with  other  paintings  which  I  have  made,  descrip- 
tive of  their  manners  and  customs — views  of  their  villages 
— landscapes  of  the  country,  &c.,  will  soon  be  laid  before 
the  amateurs  of  the  East,  and,  I  trust,  will  be  found  to  be 
very  intere-sting. 


i 


mntry. 
d  have 
f]asi  to 
jf  great 
ouruey, 
make. 


ae  "principal 
^anchee,  and 
one  of  tlio 
and,  I  liave 
[aits  of  all  oi 
Js,  wlxo  came 
3SC  portrait'^, 
lade,  dcscrip- 
■their  villages 
le  laid  before 
Ic  found  to  be 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


528 


Although  the  aohiovemcnt  has  been  a  handsome  one — of 
bringing  these  unknown  people  to  an  acquaintance,  and  a 
general  peace ;  and  at  first  sight  would  appear  to  bo  of  groat 
benefit  to  them — ^yet  I  have  my  strong  doubts,  whothjr  it 
will  better  their  condition,  unless  with  the  exorcised  aid  of 
the  strong  arm  of  Government,  they  can  be  protected  in  the 
rights  which  by  nature  they  are  entitled  to. 

There  is  already  in  this  place  a  company  of  eighty  men 
fitted  out,  who  are  to  start  to-morrow,  to  overtake  these  In- 
dians a  few  miles  from  this  place,  and  to  accompany  them 
home,  with  a  large  stock  of  goods,  with  traps  for  cat'  aing 
beavers,  &c.,  calculating  to  build  a  trading-house  amongst 
them,  where  they  will  amass  at  once  an  immense  fortune 
being  the  first  traders  and  trappers  that  have  ever  beer,  in 
that  part  of  the  country. 

I  have  travelled  too  much  among  Indian  tribes,  and 
seen  too  much,  not  to  know  the  evil  consequences  of  such  a 
system.  Goods  are  sold  at  such  exorbitant  prices,  that  the 
Indian  gets  a  mere  shadow  for  his  peltries,  &c.  The  Indians 
see  no  white  people  but  traders  and  sellers  of  whisky ;  and 
of  course,  judge  us  all  by  them — they  consequently  hold  us, 
and  always  will,  in  contempt ;  as  inferior  to  themselves,  as 
they  have  reason  to  do — and  they  neither  fear  or  respect  us. 
When,  on  the  contrary,  if  the  Government  would  promptly 
prohibit  such  establishments,  and  invite  these  Indians  to  our 
frontier  posts,  they  would  bring  in  their  furs,  their  robes, 
horses,  mules,  &c.,  to  this  place,  where  there  is  a  good  mar- 
ket for  them  all — where  they  would  get  the  full  value  of 
their  property — where  there  are  several  stores  of  .  c.-ls — 
where  there  is  an  honorable  competition,  and  wheio  they 
would  get  four  or  five  times  as  much  for  their  articles  of 
trade,  as  they  would  get  from  a  trader  in  the  v51kge,  out  of 
the  reach  of  competition,  and  out  of  sight  o?  the  civilized 
^forld. 

At  the  same  time,  as  they  would  be  continually  coming 
where  they  would  see  good  and  polished  society,  they  would 
be  gradually  adopting  our  modes  of  living — introducing  to 


o  ti 


•1 


IS' 


II 


524 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


their  country  our  vegetables,  our  domestic  animals,  poultry, 
&c.,  and  at  length,  our  arts  and  manufactures ;  they  would 
see  and  estimate  our  military  strength,  and  advantages,  and 
would  be  led  to  fear  and  respect  us.  In  short,  it  would 
undoubtedly  be  the  quickest  and  surest  way  to  a  general 
acquaintance — to  friendship  and  peace,  and  at  last  to  civili- 
zation. If  there  is  a  law  in  existence  for  such  protection 
of  the  Indian  tribes,  which  may  have  been  waived  in  the 
case  of  those  nations  with  which  we  have  long  traded,  it  is 
a  great  pity  that  it  should  not  be  rigidly  enforced  in  this 
new  and  important  acquaintance,  which  we  have  just  made 
with  thirty  or  forty  thousand  strangers  to  the  civilized  world  • 
yet  (as  we  have  learned  from  their  unaffected  hospitality 
when  in  their  villages),  with  hearts  of  human  mould,  suscep- 
tible of  all  the  noble  feelings  belonging  to  civilized  man. 

This  acquaintance  has  cost  the  United  States  a  vast  sum 
of  money  as  well  as  the  lives  of  several  valuable  and 
esteemed  officers,  and  more  than  one  hundred  of  the 
dragoons;  and  for  the  honor  of  the  American  name,  I 
think  we  ought,  in  forming  an  acquaintance  with  these 
numerous  tribes,  to  adopt  and  enforce  some  different  system 
from  that  which  has  been  generally  practiced  on  and 
beyond  our  frontiers  heretofore. 

What  the  regiment  of  dragoons  has  suffered  from  sickness 
since  they  started  on  their  sn.mmer's  campaign  is  unex- 
ampled in  this  country,  and  almost  incredible. — When  we 
started  fi  orn  this  place,  ten  or  fifteen  were  sent  back  the  first 
day,  too  sick  to  proceed;  and  so  afterwards  our  numbers 
were  daily  diminished,  and  at  the  distance  of  two  hundred 
miles  from  this  place  wc  could  muster  out  of  the  whole  regi- 
ment but  two  hundred  and  fifty  men  who  were  able  to  pro- 
ceed, with  which  little  band,  and  that  again  reduced  some 
sixty  or  seventy  by  sickness,  we  pushed  on,  and  accomplished 
all  that  was  done,  Tlie  beautiful  and  pictured  scenes  which 
we  passed  over  had  an  alluring  charm  on  their  surface,  but  (as 
it  would  seem)  a  lurking  poison  within,  that  spread  a  gloom 
about  our  encampment  whenever  we  pitched  it. 


joultry, 
f  -would 
res,  and 
t  would 
general 
to  civili- 
rotection 
id  in  tlio 
ied,  it  is 
d  in  tliia 
ust  made 
od  world ; 
hospitality 
lid,  suscep- 
id  man. 
a  vast  sum 
luable  and 
red  of  tbe 
in  name,  I 
[with  these 
stent  system 
ied  on  and 

rom  sickness 
gn  is  unex- 
.__\Yhen  we 
lack  the  first 
>ur  numbers 
Avo  hundred 
,e  whole  regi- 
able  to  pro- 
•educed  sotac 
accomplished 
scenes  which 
irface,  but  (as 
[pread  a  gloom 


NORTH  AMERICAN  TNDIAN3. 


625 


"We  sometimes  rode,  day  after  day,  without  a  tree  to  shade 
us  from  the  burning  rays  of  a  tropical  sun,  or  a  breath  of 
wind  to  regale  us  or  cheer  our  hearts — and  with  mouths 
continually  parched  with  thirst,  we  dipped  our  drink  from 
stagnant  pools  that  were  heated  by  the  sun,  and  kept  in 
fermrntation  by  the  wallowing  herds  oi  buffaloes  that  resort 
to  th.  m.  In  this  way  we  dragged  on,  sometimes  passing 
picturesque  and  broken  country,  with  fine  springs  and 
streams,  aflfording  us  the  luxury  of  a  refreshing  shade  and 
a  cool  draught  of  water. 

Thus  was  dragged  through  and  completed  this  most  dis- 
astrous campaign;  and  to  Colonel  Dodge  and  Colonel 
Kearney,  who  so  indefatigably  led  and  encouraged  their  men 
through  it,  too  much  praise  cannot  be  awarded. 

During  my  illness,  while  I  have  been  at  this  post,  my 
friend  Joe  has  been  almost  constantly  by  my  bedside ;  evin- 
cing (as  he  did  when  we  were  creeping  over  the  vast  prairies) 
the  most  sincere  and  intense  anxiety  for  my  recovery; 
whilst  he   has  administered,  like  a  bvother,  every  aid  and 
every  comfort  that  lay  in  his  power  to  bring.    Such  tried 
friendship  as  this,  I  shall  evor  recollect ;  and  it  will  long 
hence  and  often,  lead  my  mind  back  to  retrace,  at  least,  the 
first  part  of  our  campaign,  whiih  was  full  pleasant ;  and 
many  of  its  incidents  have  forraed  pleasing  impressions  on 
my  memory,  which  I  would  preserve  to  the  end  of  my  life. 
When  we  started,  we  were  fresh  and  ardent  for  the  inci- 
dents that  were  before  us— our  little  packhorse  carried  our 
bedding  and  culina'  /  articles ;  amongst  which  we  had  a  coffee 
pot  and  a  frying-pan — coffee  in  good  store,  and  sugar — and 
wherever  we  spread  our  bear-skin,  and  kindled  our  fire  in 
the  grass,  we  were  sure  to  take  by  ourselves,  a  delightful, 
repast,  and  a  refreshing  sleep.    During  the  march  as  we 
were  subject  to  no  military  surbordination,  we  galloped 
about  wherever  we  were  disposed,  popping  away  at  what- 
ever we  chose  to  spend  ammunition  upon — and  running  our 
noses  into  every  wild  nook  and  crevice,  we  saw  fit.    In  this 
way  we  travelled  happily,  until  our  coffee  was  gone,  and  our 


■:;Ki 


■  '.Ria 


..tI^I 


M' 


U^' 


m^ 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


*i 


wt 

il 

I' 

ill 


bread ;  and  even  then  we  were  happy  upon  meat  alone,  until 
at  laat  each  one  in  his  turn,  like  every  other  moving  thing 
about  U3,  both  man  and  beast,  were  vomiting  and  fainting, 
under  the  poisonous  influence  of  some  latent  enemy,  that 
was  floating  in  the  air,  and  threatening  our  destruction. 
Then  came  the  "  tug  of  war,"  and  instead  of  catering  for  our 
amusements,  every  one  seemed  desperately  studying  the 
means  that  were  to  support  him  on  his  feet,  and  bring  him 
safe  home  again  to  the  bosoms  of  his  friends.  In  our  start, 
our  feelings  were  buoyant  and  light,  and  we  had  the  luxuries 
of  life — the  green  prairies,  spotted  with  wild  flowers,  and 
the  clear  blue  sky,  were  an  earthly  paradise  to  us,  until 
fatigue  and  disease,  and  at  last  despair,  made  them  tiresome 
aad  painful  to  our  jaundiced  eyes. 

On  our  way,  and  while  we  were  in  good  heart,  my  friend 
Joe  and  I  had  picked  up  many  minerals  and  fossils  of  an 
interesting  nature,  which  we  put  in  our  portmanteau  and 
carried  for  weeks,  with  much  pains,  and  some  pain  also, 
until  the  time  when  our  ardor  cooled  and  our  spirits 
lagged,  and  then  we  discharged  and  threw  them  away ;  and 
sometimes  we  came  across  specimens  again,  still  more 
wonderful,  which  we  put  in  their  place,  and  lugged  along 
till  we  were  tired  of  tfiem,  and  their  weight,  and  we  dis- 
charged them  as  before ;  so  that  from  our  eager  desire  to 
procure,  we  lugged  many  pounds  weight  of  stones, 
shells,  &c.,  nearly  the  whole  way,  and  were  glad  that  their 
mother  Earth  should  receive  them  again  at  our  hands, 
which  was  done  long  before  we  got  back. 

One  of  the  most  curious  places  we  met  in  all  our  route, 
was  a  mountain  ridge  of  fossil  shells,  from  which  a  great 
number  of  ihe  above-mentioned  specimens  were  taken. 
During  our  second  day's  march  from  the  mouth  of  the 
False  Washita,  we  were  astonished  to  find  ourselves 
travelling  over  a  bed  of  clam  and  oyster  shells,  which  were 
all  in  a  complete  state  of  petrifaction.  This  ridge,  which 
seemed  to  run  froni  N.  E.  to  S.  W.  was  several  hundred 
feet  high,  and  varying  from  a  quarter  to  half  a  mile  in 


n 


u ' 


e,  until 
5  tbing 
'aintiug, 
ly,  that 
ituction. 
5  for  our 
^ing  the 
ring  him 
)ur  start, 
5  luxuries 
wers,  and 
»  us,  until 
Q  tiresome 

my  friend 
)ssil3  of  an 
mteau  and 

pain  also, 
our  spirits 
i  away ',  and 

still  more 
igged  along 

tnd  we  dis- 
[er  desire  to 
of  stones, 

id  that  their 
our  hands, 

111  our  route, 
kich  a  great 
were  taken, 
louth  of  the 
id    ourselves 
a  which  were 
fridge,  which 
leral  hundred 
lalf  a  mile  in 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


527 


breadth,  seemed  to  be  composed  of  nothing  but  a  con- 
cretion of  shells,  which,  on  the  surface,  exposed  to  the 
weather  for  the  depth  of  eight  or  ten  inches,  were  entirely 
separated  from  the  cementing  material  which  had  held 
them  together,  and  were  lying  on  the  surface,  sometimes 
for  acres  together,  without  a  particle  of  soil  or  grass  upon 
them ;  with  the  color,  shapes  and  appearance  exactly,  of 
the  natural  shells  lying  loosely  together,  into  which  our 
horses'  feet  were  sinking  at  every  step,  above  their  fet- 
locks.   These  I  consider  the  most  extraordinary  petri- 
factions I  ever  beheld.    In  any  way  they  could  be  seen, 
individually  or  in  the  mass  together,  they  seemed  to  be 
nothing  but  the  pure  shells  themselves,  both  in  color  and  in 
shape.     In  many  instances  we  picked  them  up  entire, 
never  having  been  opened;  and  taking  our  knives  out, 
and  splitting  them  open  as  we  would  an  oyster,  the  fish 
was  seen  petrified  in  perfect  form,  and  by  dipping  it  into 
water,  it  shewed  all  the  colors  and  freshness  of  an  oyster 
just  opened  and  laid  on  a  plate  to  be  eaten.    Joe  and  I  had 
carefully  tied  up  many  of  these,  with  which  we  felt  quite 
sure  we  could  deceive  our  oyster- eating  friends  when  we 
got  back  to  the  East;  yet,   like  many  other  things  we 
collected,  they  shared  the  fate  that  I  have  mentioned,  with- 
out our  bringing  home  one  of  them,  though  we  brought 
many  of  them  several  hundreds  of  miles,  and  at  last  threw 
them  away.      This  remarkable    ridge  is  in  some  parts 
covered  with   grass,   but  generally  with  mere  scattering 
bunches,  for  miles  together,  partially  covering  this  com- 
pact mass  of  shells,  forming  (in  my  opinion)  one  of  the 
greatest  geological  curiosities   now  to  be    seen  in  this 
country,  as  it  lies  evidently  some  thousands  of  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  ocean,  and  seven  or  eight  hundred  miles 
from  the  nearest  point  on  the  sea-coast. 

In  another  section  of  the  country,  lying  between  Fort 
Gibson  and  the  "Washita,  we  passed  over  a  ridge  for 
several  miles,  running  parallel  to  this,  where  much  of  the 
way  there  was  no  earth  or  grass  under  foot,  but  our  horses 


■i'^T 


•fv 


i 


It 


t  - 


523 


LETTERS  AXD  NOTES. 


were  travelling  on  a  solid  rock,  which  had  on  its  surface  a 
reddish  or  oxidized  appearance;  and  on  getting  from  my 
horse  and  striking  it  with  my  hatchet,  I  found  it  to  con- 
tain sixty  or  eighty  per  cent,  of  solid  iron,  which  produced 
a  ringing  noise,  and  a  rebounding  of  the  hatchet,  as  if  it 
were  struck  upon  an  anvil. 

In  other  parts,  and  farther  west,  between  the  Camanchee 
village  and  the  Canadian,  we  passed  over  a  similar  surface 
for  many  miles  denuded,  with  the  exception  of  here  and 
there  little  bunches  of  grass  and  wild  sage,  a  level  and  ex. 
posed  surface  of  solid  gypsum,  of  a  dark  grey  color ;  and 
through  it,  occasionally,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  discover,  to 
the  East  and  the  West,  streaks  of  three  and  five  inches 
wide  of  snowy  gypsum,  which  was  literally  as  white  as  the 
drifted  snow. 

Of  saltpetre  and  salt,  there  are  also  endless  supplies ;  so 
it  will  be  seen  that  the  mineral  resources  of  this  wilderness 
country  are  inexhaustible  and  rich,  and  that  the  idle  sav- 
age who  never  converts  them  to  his  use,  must  soon  yield 
them  to  the  occupation  of  enlightened  and  cultivating  man. 

In  the  vicinity  of  this  post  there  are  an  immense  number 
of  Indians,  most  of  whom  have  been  removed  to  their 
present  locations  by  the  Government,  from  their  eastern 
original  positions,  within  a  few  years  past ;  and  previous  to 
ray  starting  with  the  dragoons.  I  had  two  months  at  my 
leisure,  in  this  section  of  the  country,  which  I  used  in 
travelling  about  with  my  canvass  and  note-book,  and 
visiting  all  of  them  in  their  villages.  I  have  made  many 
paintings  amongst  them,  and  have  a  curious  note-book  to 
open  at  a  future  day,  for  which  the  reader  may  be  prepared. 
The  tribes  whom  I  thus  visited,  and  of  whom  my  note- 
book will  yet  speak,  are  the  Cherokees,  Choctaws^  Creeh^ 
SeminoleSj  Chichasaws,  Quajoaws,  Smecas,  Delawares,  and 
several  others,  whose  customs  are  interesting,  and  whose 
history,  from  their  proximity  to,  and  dealings  with  the 
civilized  community,  is  one  of  great  interest,  and  some 
importance,  to  the  enlightened  world.    Adieu. 


i^ 


:face  a 
)m  my 
,o  con- 
oduccd 
as  if  it 

lancbee 

surface 
ere  and 

and  ex- 
Lor-,  and 
cover,  to 
e  inclies 
itc  as  tlie 

jplies;  so 
vilderness 
a  idle  sav- 
oon  yield 
ating  man. 
,36  number 
to  their 
eastern 
jrcvious  to 
ths  at  my 
used  in 
book,  and 
made  many 
ote-book  to 
)e  prepared, 
m  my  note- 
aics,  Creeks^ 
'awareSf  and 
and  wbose 
ga  witb  the 
and  some 


nr 


I  y 


LETTER  No.  XLVI. 
ALTON,  ILLINOIS. 

A  FBW  days  after  tho  date  of  the  above  letter,  I  took 
leave  of  Fort  Gibson,  and  made  a  transit  across  the  prairies 
to  this  place,  a  distance  of  five  hundred  and  fifty  miles, 
which  1  have  performed  entirely  alone,  and  had  the 
satisfaction  of  joining  my  wife,  whom  I  have  found  in  good 
health,  in  a  family  of  my  esteemed  friends,  with  whom  she 
has  been  residing  during  my  last  year  of  absence. 

While  at  Fort  Gibson,  on  my  return  from  the  Caman- 

34  (529) 


:'l. 


■  1.  j4>^| 

'1 :'  r 


.11 


i-i 


I  i  1     «J 


m 


m 


530 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


cliees,  I  was  quartered  for  a  month  or  two  in  a  room  with 
my  fellow-companion  in  misery,  Captain  Wharton,  of  the 
dragoons,  who  had  come  in  from  the  prairies  in  a  condition 
very  similar  to  mine,  and  laid  in  a  bed  in  the  opposite 
corner  of  the  room ;  where  we  laid  for  several  weeks,  like 
two  grim  ghosts,  rolling  our  glaring  and  staring  eyeballs 
upon  each  other,  when  we  were  totally  unable  to  hold  con- 
verse, other  than  that  which  was  exchanged  through  the 
expressive  language  of  our  hollow,  and  bilious,  sunken  eyes. 

The  Captain  had  been  sent  with  a  company  of  dragoons 
to  escort  the  Santa  F^  Traders  through  the  country  of  the 
Camanchees  and  Pawnees,  and  had  returned  from  a  rapid 
and  bold  foray  into  the  country,  with  many  of  his  men  sick, 
and  himself  attacked  with  the  epidemic  of  the  country. 
The  Captain  is  a  gentleman  of  high  and  noble  bearing,  of 
one  of  the  most  respected  families  in  Philadelphia,  with  a 
fine  and  chivalrous  feeling;  but  with  scarce  physical 
stamina  sufficient  to  bear  him  up  under  the  rough  vicissi- 
tudes of  his  wild  and  arduous  sort  of  life  in  this  country. 

As  soon  as  our  respective  surgeons  had  clarified  our  flesh 
and  our  bones  with  calomel,  had  brought  our  pulses  to  beat 
calmly,  our  tongues  to  ply  gently,  and  our  stomachs  to 
digest  moderately ;  we  began  to  feel  pleasure  exquisitely  in 
our  convalescence,  and  draw  amusement  from  mutual  re- 
lations of  scenes  and  adventures  we  had  witnessed  on  our 
several  marches.  The  Captain  convalescing  faster  than  I 
did,  «oon  got  so  as  to  eat  (but  not  to  digest)  enormous  meals, 
which  visited  back  upon  him  the  renewed  horrors  of 
his  disease ;  and  I,  who  had  got  ahead  of  him  in  strength, 
but  not  in  prudence,  was  thrown  back  in  my  turn,  by 
similar  indulgence;  and  so  we  were  mutually  and  re- 
peatedly, until  he  at  length  got  so  as  to  feel  strength  enough 
to  ride,  and  resolution  enough  to  swear  that  he  would  take 
leave  of  that  deadly  epot,  and  seek  restoration  and  health 
in  a  cooler  and  more  congenial  latitude.  So  he  had  his 
horse  brought  up  one  morning,  whilst  he  was  so  weak  that 
he  could  scarcely  mount  upon  his  back,  and  with  his  servant, 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


581 


a  small  negro  boy,  packed  on  another,  he  steered  off  upon 
the  prairies  towards  Fort  Leavenworth,  five  hundred  miles 
to  the  North,  where  his  company  had  long  since  marched. 

I  remained  a  week  or  two  longer,  envying  the  Captain 
the  good  luck  to  escape  from  that  dangerous  ground  ;  and 
after  I  had  gained  strength  sufficient  to  warrant  it,  I  made 
preparations  to  take  informal  leave,  and  wend  my  way  also 
over  the  prairies  to  the  Missouri,  a  distance  of  five  hundred 
miles,  and  most  of  the  way  a  solitary  wilderness.  For  this 
purpose  I  had  my  horse  "Ch"4ey"  brought  up  from  his 
pasture,  where  he  had  been  in  good  keeping  during  my 
illness,  and  got  so  fat  as  to  form  almost  an  objectionable 
contrast  to  his  master,  with  whom  he  was  to  embark  on  a 
long  and  tedious  journey  again,  over  the  vast  and  almost 
boundless  prairies. 

I  had,  like  the  Captain,  grown  into  such  a  dread  of  that 
place,  from  the  scenes  of  death  that  were  and  had  been 
visited  upon  it,  that  I  resolved  to  be  off  as  soon  as  I 
had  strength  to  get  on  to  my  horse,  and  balance  myself  upon 
his  back.  For  this  purpose  I  packed  up  my  canvass  and 
brushes,  and  other  luggage,  and  sent  them  down  the  river 
to  the  Mississippi,  to  be  forwarded  by  steamer,  to  meet  me 
at  St.  Louis.  So,  one  fine  morning,  Charley  was  brought 
up  and  saddled,  and  a  bear-skin  and  a  buffalo  robe  being 
spread  upon  his  saddle,  and  a  coffee-pot  and  tin  cup  tied  to 
it  also — with  a  few  pounds  of  hard  biscuit  in  my  port- 
manteau— with  my  fowling-piece  in  my  h^i-nd,  and  my 
pistols  in  my  belt — with  my  sketch-book  slung  on  my  back, 
and  a  small  pocket  compass  in  ray  pocket ;  I  took  leave 
of  Fort  Gibson,  even  against  the  advice  of  my  surgeon  and 
all  the  officers  of  the  garrison,  who  gathered  around  me  to 
bid  me  farewell.  No  argument  could  contend  with  the 
fixed  resolve  of  my  own  mind,  that  if  I  could  get  out  upon 
the  prairies,  and  moving  continually  to  the  Northward,  I 
should  daily  gain  strength,  and  save  myself,  possibly,  from 
the  jaws  of  that  voracious  burial-ground  that  laid  in  front 
of  my  room ;  where  I  had  for  months  laid  and  imagined 


m 


'''in 


i 


vi 


m 


I  \ 


II 


It 


Ill 


;  i 


.  W 


M 


582 


LETTEBS  AND  XOTES  OS  THE 


myself  going  with  other  poor  fellows,  whose  mournful 
dirges  were  played  under  my  window  from  day  to  day. 
No  one  can  imagine  what  was  the  dread  I  felt  for  that 
place;  nor  the  pleasure,  which  was  extatic,  when  Charley 
was  trembling  under  me,  and  I  turned  him  around  on  the 
top  of  a  prairie  bluflf  at  a  mile  distance,  to  take  the  last 
look  upon  it,  and  thank  God,  as  I  did  audibly,  that  I  was 
not  to  be  buried  within  its  enclosure.  1  said  to  myself, 
that  "  to  die  on  the  prairie,  and  be  devoured  by  wolves ,  •)T 
to  fall  in  combat  and  be  scalped  by  an  Indian,  would  be  far 
more  acceptable  than  the  lingering  death  .  it  would 
consign  me  to  the  jaws  of  that  insatiable  grave,"  for  which, 
in  the  fever  and  weakness  of  my  mind,  I  had  contracted  so 
destructive  a  terror. 

So,  alone,  without  other  living  being  with  me  than  my 
affectionate  horse,  Charley,  I  turned  my  face  to  the  North, 
and  commenced  on  my  long  journey,  with  confidence  full 
and  strong,  that  I  should  gain  strength  daily ;  and  no  one 
can  ever  know  the  pleasure  of  that  moment,  which  placed 
me  alone,  upon  the  boundless  sea  of  waving  grass,  over 
which  my  proud  horse  was  prancing,  and  I  with  my  life  in 
my  own  hands,  commenced  to  steer  my  course  to  the 
banks  of  the  Missouri. 

For  the  convalescent,  rising  and  escaping  from  the  gloom 
and  horrors  of  a  sick  bed,  astride  of  his  strong  and  trembling 
horse,  carrying  him  fast  and  safely  over  green  fields  spotted 
and  tinted  with  waving  wild  flowers ;  and  through  the  fresh 
and  cool  breezes  that  are  rushing  about  him,  as  he  daily 
shortens  the  distance  that  lies  between  him  and  his  wife  and 
little  ones,  there  is  an  exquisite  pleasure  yet  to  be  learned, 
by  those  who  never  have  felt  it. 

Day  by  day  I  thus  pranced  and  galloped  along,  the  whola 
way  through  waving  grass  and  green  fields,  occasionally  dis- 
mounting and  lying  in  the  grass  an  hour  or  so,  until  the 
grim  shaking  and  chattering  of  an  ague  chill  had  passed  off; 
and  through  the  nights  slept  on  my  bear-skin  spread  upon 
the  grass,  with  my  saddle  for  my  pillow,  and  my  buffalo 


NORTH  AMEBICAK  INDIAKS. 


688 


robe  drawn  over  me  for  my  covering.  My  horse  Charley  was 
picketed  near  me  at  the  end  of  his  laso,  which  gave  him 
room  for  his  grazing ;  and  thus  we  snored  and  nodded  away 
the  nights,  and  never  were  denied  the  doleful  serenades  of 
the  gangs  of  sneaking  wolves  that  were  nightly  perambu- 
lating our  little  encampment,  and  stationed  at  a  safe  distance 
from  us  at  sun-rise  in  the  morning — gazing  at  us  and  impa- 
tient to  pick  up  the  crumbs  and  bones  that  were  left,  when 
we  moved  away  from  our  feeble  fire  that  had  faintly  flick- 
ered through  the  night,  and  in  the  absence  of  timber,  had 
been  made  of  dried  bufEalo  dung. 

This  "  Charley "  was  a  noble  animal  of  the  Camanchee 
wild  breed,  of  a  clay  bank  color;  and  from  our  long  and 
tried  acquaintance,  we  had  become  very  much  attached  to 
each  other,  and  acquired  a  wonderful  facility  both  of  mutual 
accommodation,  and  of  construing  each  other's  views  and 
intentions.  In  fact,  we  had  been  so  long  tried  together,  that 
there  would  have  seemed  to  the  spectator  almost  an  unity 
of  interest ;  and  at  all  events,  an  unity  of  feelings  on  the  sub- 
ject of  attachment,  as  well  as  on  that  of  mutual  dependance 
and  protection. 

I  purchased  this  very  showy  and  well-known  animal  of 
Colonel  Burbank,  of  the  ninth  regiment,  and  rode  it  the 
whole  distance  to  the  Camanchee  villages  and  back  again ; 
and  at  the  time  when  most  of  the  horses  of  the  regiment 
were  drooping  and  giving  out  by  the  way — Charley  flour- 
ished and  came  in  in  good  flesh  and  good  spirits. 

On  this  journey,  while  he  and  I  were  twenty-five  days 
alone,  we  had  much  time,  and  the  best  of  circumstances, 
under  which  to  learn  what  we  had  as  yet  overlooked  in  each 
other's  characters,  as  well  as  to  draw  great  pleasure  and  real 
benefit  from  what  we  already  had  learned  of  each  other,  in 
our  former  travels. 

I  generally  halted  on  the  bank  of  some  little  stream,  at 
half  an  hour's  sun,  where  feed  was  good  for  Charley,  and 
where  I  could  get  wood  to  kindle  my  fire,  and  water  for  my 
coffee.    The  first  thing  was  to  undress  "  Charley  "  and  drive 


53:1 


LKTTER3  AN'D   N'OTE:^   OX  THE 


down  his  picket,  to  which  ho  was  fastened,  to  graze  over  a 
circle  that  Le  could  inscribe  at  the  end  of  liis  laso.  In  this 
wise  he  busily  fed  himself  until  nightfall ;  and  after  my  coflfeo 
was  made  and  drank,  I  uniformly  moved  him  up,  with  his 
picket  by  my  head,  so  that  I  could  lay  my  hand  upon  his 
laso  in  an  instant,  in  case  of  any  alarm  that  was  liable  to 
drive  him  from  mo.  On  one  of  these  evenings  when  he  was 
grazing  as  usual,  he  slipped  the  laso  over  his  head,  and  do 
liberately  took  his  supper  at  his  pleasure,  wherever  he  chose 
to  prefer  it,  as  he  was  strolling  around.  When  night  ap- 
proached,  I  took  the  laso  in  my  hand  and  endeavored  to 
catch  him,  but  I  soon  saw  that  he  was  d?t','rmined  to  enjoy  a 
little  free  I  lorn;  and  he  couLinually  evaded  me  until  dark, 
when  I  abandoned  the  pursuit,  making  up  my  mind  that  I 
should  inevitably  lose  him,  and  be  obliged  to  perform  the 
rest  of  my  journey  on  foot.  He  had  led  me  a  chase  of  half 
a  mile  or  more,  when  I  left  him  busily  grazing,  and  returned 
to  cy  little  solitary  bivouac,  and  laid  myself  on  ray  bear 
skin  and  went  to  sleep. 

In  the  middle  of  the  night  I  waked,  whilst  I  was  lying  on 
my  back,  and  on  half  opening  my  eyes,  I  was  instantly 
shocked  to  the  soul,  by  tho  huge  figure  (as  I  thought)  of  an 
Indian,  standing  over  me,  and  in  the  very  instant  of  taking 
my  scalp  1  The  chill  of  horror  that  paralyzed  me  for  the 
first  moment,  held  me  still  till  I  saw  there  was  no  need  of 
my  moving — that  my  faitliful  horse  "  Charley  "  had  "  played 
shy  "  till  he  had  "  filled  his  belly,"  and  had  then  moved  up, 
from  feelings  of  pure  affection,  or  from  instinctive  fear,  or 
possibly  from  a  duo  share  of  both,  and  taken  his  position 
with  his  forefeet  on  the  edge  of  my  bed,  with  his  head  hang- 
ing directly  over  me,  while  he  was  standing  fast  asleep! 

My  nerves,  which  had  been  most  violently  shocked,  were 
soon  quieted,  and  I  fell  asleep,  and  so  continued  until  sun 
rise  in  the  morning,  when  I  waked,  and  beheld  my  faithful 
servant  at  some  considerable  distance,  busily  at  work  pick- 
ing up  his  breakfast  amongst  the  cane-brake,  along  the  bank 
of  the  creek.    I  went  as  busily  to  work  preparing  my  own, 


over  a 
In  tbia 
y  coffeo 
rith  hia 
pon  his 
iable  to 
I  he  was 
and  do 
he  choso 
light  ap- 
,vorcd  to 

0  enjoy  a 
itil  dark, 
ind  that  I 
rform  the 
ise  of  half 
i  returned 

1  ray  bear 

^  lying  on 
instantly 
ught)  of  an 
of  taking 
me  for  the 
no  need  of 
ad  "  played 
moved  up, 
tive  fear,  or 
his  position 
head  hang- 
asleep  I 
ocked,  were 
3d  until  sun 
my  faithful 
work  pick- 
ing the  hank 
ing  my  own, 


NORTH   AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


585 


which  was  eaten,  and  after  it,  I  had  another  half-hour  of 
fruitless  endeavors  to  catch  Charley ;  whilst  he  seemed  mind- 
ful of  success  on  the  evening  before,  and  continually  tan- 
talized mo  by  turning  around  and  around,  and  keeping  out 
of  my  reach.  I  recollected  the  conclusive  evidence  of  his 
attachment  and  depondance,  which  he  had  voluntarily  given 
in  the  night,  and  I  thought  I  would  try  them  in  another 
way.  So  I  packed  up  my  things  and  slung  the  addle  on 
my  back,  trailing  my  gun  in  my  hand,  and  started  on  my 
route.  After  I  had  advanced  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  I  looked 
hack,  and  saw  him  standing  with  his  head  and  tail  very 
high,  looking  alternately  at  me  and  at  the  spot  where  I  had 
been  encamped,  and  left  a  little  fire  burning.  In  this  condi- 
tion he  stood  and  surveyed  the  prairies  around  for  a  while, 
as  I  continued  on.  He,  at  length,  walked  with  a  hurried 
step  to  the  spot,  and  seeing  everything  gone,  began  to  neigh 
very  violently,  and  at  last  started  off  at  fullest  speed,  and 
overtook  me,  passing  within  a  few  paces  of  me,  and  wheel- 
ing about  at  a  few  rods  distance  in  front  of  me,  trembling 
like  an  aspen  leaf. 

I  called  him  by  his  familiar  name,  and  walked  up  to  him 
with  the  bridle  in  my  hand,  which  I  put  over  his  head,  as 
he  held  it  down  for  me,  and  the  saddle  on  his  back,  as  he 
actually  stooped  to  receive  it.  I  was  soon  arranged,  and  on 
his  back,  when  he  started  off  upon  his  course  as  if  he  was 
well  contented  and  pleased,  like  his  rider,  with  the  manoeu- 
vre which  had  brought  us  together  again,  and  afforded  us 
mutual  relief  from  our  awkward  positions.  Though  this 
alarming  freak  of  "Charley's"  passed  off  :ind  terminated  so 
satisfactorily ;  yet  I  thought  such  rather  dangerous  ones  to 
play,  and  I  took  good  care  after  that  night,  to  keep  him 
under  my  strict  authority ;  resolving  to  avoid  further  tricks 
and  experiments  till  we  got  to  the  land  of  cultivated  fields 
and  steady  habits. 

On  the  night  of  this  memorable  day,  Charley  ind  I  stop- 
ped in  one  of  the  most  lovely  little  valleys  I  ever  saw,  and 
even  far  more  beautiful  than  could  have  been  irnagined  by 


Mil 


m 


'ml 


m 


'  :p.I'' 


m 
\,'^i 


±^. 


tk 


I*  ■  ■ 


mi\i 


536 


LETTS  liS  AND  N0TS3  OX  TUS 


mortal  man.  An  enchanting  littlo  lawn  of  flvo  or  six  acrea 
on  tho  banks  of  a  cool  and  rippling  stream,  that  was  alivo 
with  fish;  and  every  now  and  then,  a  fine  brood  of  young 
ducks,  just  old  enough  for  dolioioua  food,  and  too  unso- 
phistioated  to  avoid  an  easy  and  simple  death.  This  littlo 
lawn  was  surrounded  by  bunches  and  copses  of  the  most 
luxuriant  and  picturesque  foliage,  consisting  of  the  lofly 
boisd'arcs  and  elms,  spreading  out  their  huge  branches,  as 
if  oflfering  protection  to  the  rounded  groups  of  cherry  and 
plum-trees  that  supported  festoons  of  grape-vines,  with  their 
purple  clusters  that  hung  in  the  most  tempting  manner 
over  the  green  carpet  that  was  everywhere  decked  out  with 
wild  flowers,  of  all  tints  and  of  various  sizes,  from  tho 
modest  wild  sun-flowers,  with  their  thousand  tall  and 
drooping  heads,  to  the  lillies  that  stood,  and  the  violets 
that  crept  beneath  them.  By  the  side  of  this  cool  stream, 
Charley  was  fastened,  and  near  him  my  bear-skin  was 
spread  in  the  grass,  and  by  it  my  little  fire,  to  which  I  soon 
brought  a  fine  string  of  perch  from  the  brook ;  from  which, 
and  a  broiled  duck,  and  a  delicious  cup  of  coiTec,  I  made 
my  dinner  and  supper,  which  were  usually  united  in  ono 
meal,  at  half  an  hour's  sun.  After  this  I  strolled  about  this 
Bwcet  little  paradise,  which  I  found  was  chosen,  not  only 
by  myself,  but  by  the  wild  deer,  which  were  repeatedly 
rising  from  their  quiet  lairs,  and  bounding  out,  and  over 
the  graceful  swells  of  tho  prairies  which  hemmed  in,  and 
framed  this  little  picture  of  sweetest  tints  and  most  masterly 
touches. 

The  Indians  also,  I  found,  had  loved  it  once,  and  left  it ; 
for  here  and  there  were  their  solitary  and  deserted  graves, 
which  told,  though  briefly,  of  former  haunts  and  sports; 
and  perhaps,  of  wars  and  deaths,  that  have  once  rung  and 
echoed  through  this  little  silent  vale. 

On  my  return  to  my  encampment,  I  laid  down  upon  my 
back,  and  looked  awhile  into  the  blue  heavens  that  were 
over  me,  with  their  pure  and  milk  white  clouds  that  were 
passing — with  the  sun  just  setting  in  the  West,  and  the 


1 


c  acrea, 

»  alivo 

young 

3    UU80- 

lis  little 

ho  most 

ho  lofty 

iches,  as 

orry  and 

ritli  their 

;  manner 

.  out  with 

from  the 
tall  and 

he  violets 

lol  stream, 

-skin  was 

lich  I  soon 

•om  which, 

be,  I  made 

ted  in  one 
about  this 
,,  not  only 
repeatedly 
;,  and  over 
led  in,  and 
»3t  masterly 

and  left  it ; 
Jrted  graves, 
land  sports; 
Ice  rung  and 

U  upon  ray 

tis  that  were 

Ids  that  were 

[est,  and  the 


NORTH  AMKBICAN  INDIANS. 


687 


silver  moon  rising  in  the  East,  and  renewed  tlio  impressions 
of  my  own  iasignifioance,  as  I  contemplated  the  incumpru- 
hensible  mechanism  of  that  wonderful  clock,  whoso  time  is 
infallible,  and  whoso  motion  is  eternity  1 1  trembled,  at  last, 
at  the  dangerous  expanse  of  my  thoughts,  and  turned  them 
again,  and  my  eyes,  upon  the  little  and  more  comprehen- 
sible things  that  were  about  me.  One  of  the  Qrst  was  a 
newspaper^  which  I  had  brought  from  the  Garrison,  the 
National  Intelligencer,  of  Washington,  which  I  had  read 
for  years,  but  never  with  quite  the  zest  and  relish  that  I 
now  conversed  over  its  familiar  columns,  in  this  clean  and 
sweet  valley  of  dead  silence. 

And  while  reading,  I  thought  of  (and  laughed)  what  I 
had  almost  forgotten,  the  sensation  I  produced  amongst  the 
Minatarees  while  on  the  Upper  Missouri,  a  few  years  since, 
by  taking  from  amongst  my  painting  apparatus  an  old 
number  of  the  New  York  Commercial  Advertiser,  edited  by 
my  kind  and  tried  friend  Colonel  Stone.  The  Minatarees 
thought  that  I  was  mad,  when  they  saw  me  for  hours 
together,  with  my  eyes  fixed  upon  its  pages.  They  had 
different  and  various  conjectures  about  it ;  the  most  current 
of  which  was,  that  I  was  looking  at  it  to  cure  my  sore  eyes, 
and  they  called  it  the  "m^icine  chih  for  sore  eyes!^^  I  at 
length  put  an  end  to  this  and  several  equally  ignorant  con- 
jectures, by  reading  passages  in  it,  which  were  interpreted 
to  them,  and  the  objects  of  the  paper  fully  explained ;  after 
which,  it  was  looked  upon  as  much  greater  mystery  than 
before;  and  several  liberal  offers  were  made  me  for  it, 
which  I  was  obliged  to  refuse,  having  already  received  a 
beautifully  garnished  robe  for  it,  from  the  hands  of  a  young 
son  of  Esculapius,  who  told  me  that  if  he  could  employ  a 
good  interpreter  to  explain  everything  in  it,  he  could  travel 
about  amongst  the  Minatarees  and  Mandans,  and  Sioux, 
and  exhibit  it  after  I  was  gone ;  getting  rich  with  presents, 
and  adding  greatly  to  the  list  of  his  medicines,  as  it  would 
make  him  a  great  Medicine-Man.  I  left  with  the  poor  fellow 
his  painted  robe,  and  the  newspaper;  and  just  before  I 


"^iih 


if' 


l,,Hl» 


!«-:  .|  I'. 


638 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


departed,  I  saw  him  unfolding  it  to  show  to  some  of  hia 
friends,  when  he  took  from  around  it,  some  eight  or  ten 
folds  of  birch  bark  and  deer  skins;  all  of  which  weie  care 
fully  enclosed  in  &  sack  made  of  the  skin  of  a  pole  cat,  and 
undoubtedly  destined  to  become,  and  to  be  called,  his 
mystery  or  medicine-haj. 

The  distance  from  Fort  Gibson  to  the  Missouri,  where  I 
struck  the  river,  is  about  five  hundred  miles,  and  most  of 
the  way  a  beautiful  prairie,  in  a  wild  and  uncultivated  state, 
without  roads  and  without  bridges,  over  a  great  part  of 
which  I  steered  n^y  course  with  my  pocket-compass,  fording 
and  swimming  the  streams  in  the  best  manner  I  could; 
shooting  prairie  hens,  and  occasionally  catching  fish,  which 
I  cooked  for  my  meals,  and  slept  upon  the  ground  at  night. 
On  my  way  I  visited  "Itiqua's  Village"  of  Osages,  and 
lodged  during  the  niglit  in  the  hospitable  cabin  of  my  old 
friend  Beatte,  of  whom  I  have  often  spoken  heretofore,  as 
one  of  the  guides  and  hunters  for  the  dragoons  on  their 
campaign  in  the  Camanchcc  country.  This  was  the  most 
extraordinary  hunter,  I  think,  that  I  ever  have  met  in  all 
my  travels.  To  ^^hunt^^^  was  a  phrase  almost  foreign  to 
him,  however,  \uc  when  he  went  out  with  his  rifle,  it  was 
^^for  meat,'^  or  "/or  cattle;"  and  he  never  came  in  without 
it.  He  never  told  how  many  animals  ho  had  seen — how 
many  he  had  wounded,  &c., — but  hia  horse  was  always 
loaded  with  meat,  wliich  was  thrown  down  in  camp  without 
comment  or  words  spokcix.  Riqua  was  an  early  pioneer  of 
Christianity  in  this  country,  who  has  devoted  many  years 
of  his  life,  with  his  interesting  family,  in  endeavoring  to 
civilize  and  christianize  these  people,  by  the  force  of  pious 
and  industrious  exaiiiplcs,  which  ho  has  successfully  set 
them;  and,  I  think,  in  the  most  judicious  way,  by  estabLsh- 
ing  a  little  village,  at  some  miles  distant  from  the  villages 
of  the  Osages ;  where  he  has  invited  a  considerable  number 
of  families  who  have  taken  their  residence  by  the  side  of 
him ;  where  they  are  following  hia  virtuous  examples  in 
their  dealings  and  modes  of  life,  and  in  agricultural  pur 


'^1 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


539 


Buits  which  he  is  teaching  them,  and  showing  them  that 
they  may  raise  the  comforts  and  luxuries  of  life  out  of  the 
ground,  instead  of  seeking  for  them  in  the  precarious 
manner  in  which  they  naturally  look  for  them,  in  the  un- 
certainty of  the  chase. 

It  was  a  source  of  much  regret  to  me,  that  I  did  not  see 
this  pious  man,  as  he  was  on  a  Tour  to  the  East,  when  I 
was  in  his  little  village. 

Beatte  lived  in  this  village  with  his  aged  parents,  to 
whom  he  introduced  me ;  and  with  whom,  altogether,  I 
spent  a  very  pleasant  evenii>g  in  conversation.  They  are 
both  French,  and  have  spent  the  greater  part  of  their  lives 
with  the  Osages,  and  seem  to  be  familiar  with  their  whole 
his'ory.  This  Beatte  was  the  hunter  and  guide  for  a  party 
of  rangers  (the  summer  before  our  campaign),  with  whom 
Washington  Irving  made  his  excursion  to  the  borders  of 
the  Pawnee  country  ;  and  of  whose  extraordinary  character 
and  powers,  Mr.  Irving  has  drawn  a  very  just  and  glowing 
account,  excepting  one  error,  which  I  think  he  has  inad- 
vertently fallen  into,  that  of  calling  him  a  "half-breed." 
Beatte  had  complained  of  this  to  me  often  while  out  on  the 
prairies ;  and  when  I  entered  his  hospitable  cabin,  he  said 
he  was  glad  to  see  me,  and  almost  instantly  continued, 
"Now  you  shall  see, Monsieur  Oatline,  I  am  not  'half-breed,^ 
here  I  shall  introduce  you  to  my  father  and  my  mother,  who 
you  see  are  two  very  nice  and  good  old  French  people." 

From  this  cabin  where  I  fared  well  and  slept  soundly,  I 
started  in  the  morning,  after  taking  with  them  a  good  cup 
of  coffee,  and  went  smoothly  on  over  the  prairies  on  my 
course. 

About  the  middle  of  my  journey,  I  struck  a  road  leading 
into  a  small  civilized  settlement,  called  the  "  Kichapoo 
prairie"  to  which  I  " bent  my  course ;"  and  riding  up  to 
a  log  cabin  which  was  kept  as  a  sort  of  hotel  or  tavern,  I 
met  at  the  door,  the  black  boy  belonging  to  my  friend 
Captain  Wharton,  who  I  have  said  took  his  leave  of  Fort 
Gibson  a  few  weeks  before  me ;   I  asked  the  boy  where  his 


^\ 


M| 


If 


I 


•*4' 


■i  :^y     . 


'W 

■  fv  } 

ft 

J  *  ?•  * 

I  im 


.« 


B'i   •'' ' 


640 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


master  was,  to  which  he  replied, "  My  good  massa,  Massa 
Whartou,  in  dese house, jist dead ob  de  libber  compliment!" 
I  dismounted  and  went  in,  ard  to  my  deepest  sorrow  and 
anguish,  I  found  him,  as  the  -oy  said,  nearly  dead,  without 
power  to  raise  his  head  or  his  voice — his  eyes  were  rolled 
upon  me,  and  as  he  recognized  me  he  took  me  by  the  hand 
which  he  firmly  gripped,  whilst  both  shed  tears  in  profusion. 
By  placing  my  ear  to  his  lips,  his  whispers  could  be  heard 
and  he  was  able  in  an  imperfect  manner  to  make  his  views 
and  his  wishes  known.  His  disease  seemed  to  be  a  re- 
peated attack  of  his  former  malady,  and  a  severe  affectioa 
of  the  liver,  which  was  to  be  (as  his  physician  said)  the 
proximate  cause  of  his  death.  I  conversed  with  his 
physician  who  seemed  to  be  a  young  and  inexperienced 
man,  who  told  me  that  he  certainly  could  not  live  more 
than  ten  days.  I  stayed  two  days  with  him,  and  having  no 
means  with  me  of  rendering  him  pecuniary  or  other  aid 
amongst  strangers,  I  left  him  in  kind  hands,  and  started 
on  my  course  again.  My  health  improved  daily,  from  the 
time  of  my  setting  out  at  Fort  Gibson ;  and  I  was  now 
moving  along  cheerfully,  and  in  hopes  soon  to  reach  the  end 
of  my  toilsome  journey.  I  had  yet  vast  prairies  to  pass  over 
and  occasional  latent  difficulties,  which  were  not  apparent 
on  their  smooth  and  deceiving  surfaces.  Deep  sunken 
streams,  like  ditches,  occasionally  presented  themselves 
suddenly  to  my  view,  when  I  was  within  a  few  steps  of 
plunging  into  them  from  their  perpendicular  sides,  which 
were  overhung  with  long  wild  grass,  and  almost  obscured 
from  the  sight.  The  bearings  of  my  compass  told  me  that 
I  must  cross  them,  and  the  only  alternative  was  to  plunge 
into  them,  and  get  out  as  well  as  I  could.  They  were  often 
muddy,  and  I  oiuld  not  tell  whether  they  were  three  or  ten 
feet  deep,  until  my  horse  was  in  them  ;  and  sometimes  he 
went  down  bead  foremost,  and  I  with  him,  to  scramble  out 
on  the  opposite  shore  in  the  best  condition  we  could.  In  one 
of  these  canals,  which  I  had  followed  for  several  miles  in 
the  vain  hope  of  finding  a  shoal,  or  an  accustomed  ford,  I 


KOBTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


541 


plunged,  with  Charley,  where  it  was  about  six  or  eight  yards 
wide  (and  God  knows  how  deep,  for  we  did  not  go  to  the 
bottom),  and  swam  him  to  the  opposite  bank,  on  to  which  I 
clung  and  which  being  perpendicular  and  of  clay,  and  three 
or  four  feet  higher  than  the  water,  was  an  insurmountable 
difficulty  to  Charley;  and  I  led  the  poor  fellow  at  least  a  mile, 
as  I  walked  on  the  top  of  the  bank,  with  the  bridle  in  my 
and,  holding  his  head  above  the  water  as  he  was  swim- 
ming ;  and  I  at  times  almost  inextricably  entangled  in  the 
long  grass  that  was  often  higher  than  my  head,  and 
hanging  over  the  brink,  filled  and  woven  together,  with 
ivy  and  wild  pea  vines.  I  at  length  (and  just  before  I  was 
ready  to  drop  the  rein  of  faithful  Charley,  in  hopeless 
despair),  came  to  an  old  buffalo  ford,  where  the  banks  were 
graded  down,  and  the  poor  exhausted  animal,  at  last  got 
out,  and  was  ready  and  willing  to  take  me  and  my  luggage 
(after  I  had  dried  them  in  the  sun)  on  the  journey  again. 

The  Osage  river,  which  is  a  powerful  stream,  I  struck  at 
a  place  which  seemed  to  stagger  my  courage  very  much. 
There  had  been  heavy  rains  but  a  few  days  before,  and 
this  furious  stream  was  rolling  along  its  wild  and  turbid 
waters,  with  a  freshet  upon  it,  that  spread  its  waters,  in 
many  places  over  its  banks,  as  was  the  case  at  tho  place 
where  I  encountered  it.  There  seemed  to  be  duo  little 
choi»5e  in  places  with  this  stream,  which,  with,  its  banx?  Ml, 
was  dxtj  or  eighty  yards  in  width,  with  a  cuxren!;  thit  was 
sweeping  along  at  a  rapid  rate.  I  stripped  evuy  thing 
from  Charley,  and  tied  him  with  his  laso,  until  T  tiaveiled 
the  shores  up  and  down  for  some  distance,  t:u\  collected 
drift  wood  enough  for  a  small  raft,  which  I  constructed,  to 
carry  my  clothes  and  saddle,  and  other  things,  safe  over. 
This  being  completed,  and  my  clothes  taken  off,  and  they 
with  other  things,  laid  upon  the  raft,  I  took  Charley  to  the 
bank  and  drove  him  in  and  across,  where  he  soon  reached 
the  opposite  shore,  and  went  to  feeding  on  the  bank.  Next 
was  to  come  the  "  great  white  medicine ;"  and  w  ith  him, 
saddle,  bridle,  saddle-bags,  sketch-book,  gun  and  pistols, 


'''Wi 


mm 


ii 


tii!*ifi,:i^^ 


I 


"14 


I 


542 


LETTERS  XSD  NOTES  ON  THE 


coffeo  and  coffee-pot,  powder,  and  bis  clothes,  all  of  which 
were  placed  upon  the  raft,  and  the  raft  pushed  into  the 
stream,  and  the  "  medicine  mavk^  swimming  behind  it, 
and  pushing  it  along  before  him,  until  it  reached  the  op- 
posite shore  at  least  half  a  mile  below  1  From  this  his 
things  were  carried  to  the  top  of  the  bank,  and  in  a  little 
time,  Charley  was  caught  and  dressed,  and  straddled,  and 
on  the  way  again. 

These  are  a  few  of  the  incidents  of  that  journey  of  five 
hundred  miles,  which  I  performed  entirely  alone,  and 
which  at  last  brought  me  out  at  Boonville  on  the  Western 
bank  of  the  Missouri.  While  I  was  crossing  the  river  at 
that  place,  I  met  General  Arbuckle,  with  two  surgeons, 
who  were  to  start  the  next  day  from  Bootiville  for  Fort 
Gibson,  travelling  over  the  route  that  I  had  just  passed.  I 
instantly  informed  them  of  the  condition  of  poor  Wharton, 
and  the  two  surgeons  were  started  off  that  afternoon  at 
fullest  speed,  with  orders  to  reach  him  in  the  shortest  time 
possible,  and  do  everything  to  save  his  life.  I  assisted  in 
purchasing  for  him,  several  little  things  that  he  had  named 
to  me,  such  as  jellies — acids — apples,  «Sic.  &c. ;  and  saw 
them  start;  and  (God  knows),  I  shall  impatiently  hope  to 
hear  of  their  timely  assistance,  and  of  his  recovery.* 

From  Boonville,  which  is  a  very  pretty  little  town, 
building  up  with  the  finest  style  of  brick  houses,  I  crossed 
the  river  to  New  Franklin,  where  I  laid  by  several  days, 
on  account  of  stormy  weather ;  and  from  thence  proceeded 
with  success  to  the  end  of  my  journey,  where  I  now  am, 
under  the  roof  of  kind  and  hospitable  friends,  with  my  dear 
wife,  who  has  patiently  waited  one  year  to  receive  me  back, 
a  wreck,  as  I  now  am ;  and  who  is  to  start  in  a  few  days 
with  mc  to  the  coast  of  Florida,  fourteen  hundred  miles 

*  I  have  great  satiBfaction  in  iaforming  the  reader,  that  I  learned  a 
year  or  bo  after  the  above  date,  that  those  two  skilful  surgeons  hastened 
on  with  all  possible  speed  to  the  assistance  of  this  excellent  gentleman, 
and  had  the  Batisfaction  of  conducting  him  to  his  post  after  he  bad 
entirely  and  permanently  recovered  his  health. 


■,  tbat  I  learned  a 
surgeons  hastened 
-ellcnt  gentleman. 
)ost  after  he  had 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


543 


South  of  this,  to  spen  1  the  winter  in  patching  up  my  health 
and  fitting  me  for  futv.  -e  campaigns. 

On  this  Tour  (from  which  I  shall  return  in  the  spring,  if 
my  health  will  admit  of  it),  I  shall  visit  the  Seminoles  in 
Florida, — the  Euchees — the  Creeks  in  Alabama  and  Georgia 
and  the  Choctaws  and  Jherokees,  who  are  yet  remaining 
on  their  lands,  on  the  !£  st  side  of  the  Mississippi. 

We  take  steamer  fo.  New  Orleans  to-morrow,  so,  till 
after  another  campaign,  Adieu. 


{ -,.:•• 


4'. 


IW:' 


i, '  ;il 


LETTER  No.  XLVII. 


SAINT  LOUIS. 


Since  the  date  of  ray  last  Letter,  a  whole  long  winter  hwi 
passed  off,  which  I  have  whiled  away  on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
and  about  the  shores  of  Florida  and  Texas.  My  health  was 
soon  restored  by  the  congenial  climate  I  there  found,  and 
my  dear  wife  was  my  companion  the  whole  way.  We 
visited  the  different  posts,  and  all  that  we  could  find  to 
interest  us  in  these  delightful  realms,  and  took  .steamer 
from  New  Orleans  to  this  place,  where  we  arrived  but  a 
few  days  since. 

Supposing  tb  i'  the  r'^ader  by  this  time  may  be  somewhat 
tired  of  followu-;j;  me  in  my  erratic  wanderings  over  these 
wild  regions,  I  )i;  ve  resolved  to  p^  down  awhile  before  I  go 
further,  and  opta  to  him  my  sketch-hook^  in  which  I  have 
made  a  great  many  entries,  as  I  have  been  dodging  about, 
and  which  I  have  not  as  yet  shewed  to  him,  for  want  of  re- 
quisite time  and  proper  opportunity. 
(544) 


lii 


hg  winter  "hasi 
ilf  of  Mexico 
y  healtli  was 
e  found,  and 
e  way.    "We 
jould  find  to 
took  steamer 
arrived  but  a 

.  "be  somcwliat 
iga  over  these 
ile  before  1  go 
whicb  I  bavo 
edging  about, 
for  want  of  re- 


NORTH  AMfiRICAN  INDIANS. 


545 


In  opening  tbis  book,  the  reader  will  allow  me  to  tura 
over  leaf  after  leaf,  and  describe  to  him,  tribe  after  tribe, 
and  chief  after  chief,  of  many  of  those  whom  I  have  visited, 
without  the  tediousness  of  travelling  too  minutely  over  the 
intervening  distances ;  in  which  I  fear  I  might  lose  him  as 
a  fellow-traveller,  and  leave  him  fagged  out  by  the  way -side, 
before  ho  would  see  all  that  I  am  an'xious  to  show  him. 

About  a  year  since  I  .■nade  a  visit  to  the 

KICKAPOOS, 

At  present  but  a  small  tribe,  numbering  six  or  eight  hun- 
dred, the  remnant  of  a  once  numerous  and  warlike  tribe. 
They  are  residing  within  the  state  of  Illinois,  near  the  south 
end  of  Lake  Michigan,  and  living  in  a  poor  and  miserable 
condition,  although  they  have  one  of  the  finest  countries  in 
the  world.      They  have  been  reduced    in   numbers  by 
whisky  and  small-pox,  and  the  game  being  destroyed  in 
their  country,  and  having  little  industry  to  work,  they  are 
exceedingly  poor  and  dependent.     In  fact,  there  is  very 
little  inducement  for  them  to  build  houses  and  cultivate 
their  farms,  for  they  own  so  large  and  so  fine  a  tract  of 
country,  which  is  now  completely  surrounded  by  civilized 
settlements,  that  they  know,  from  experience,  they  will 
soon  bo  obliged  to  sell  out  their  country  for  a  trifle,  and 
move  to  the  West.     This  system  of  moving  has  already 
commenced  with  them,  and  a  considerable  party  have  lo- 
cated on  a  tract  of  lands  ofl:ered  to  them  on  the  west  bank 
of  the  Missouri  river,  a  little  north  of  Fort  Leavenworth.* 
The  Kickapoos  have  long  lived  in  alliance  with  the  Sacs 
and  Foxes,  and  speak  a  language  so  similar  that  they  seem 
almost  to  be  of  ono  family.     The  present  chief  of  this  tribe, 
whose  name  is  Kee-an-ne-hulc  (the  foremost  man,)  usually 
called  the  Shatvnee  Proi)het,  is  a  very  shrewd  and  talented 
man.    When  he  sat  for  his  portrait,  he  took  his  attitude 

*  Since  the  above  was  written,  the  whole  of  this  tribe  have  beea 
removed  beyond  the  Missouri,  having  sold  out  their  lands  in  the  state 
of  lilino  9  to  the  Government. 

35 


m 


Y^ilM 


&tf,  ■  •'W'  ■ 


546 


LETTEBS  AND  NOTES  OX  THE 


which  was  that  of  prayer.  And  I  soon  learned  that  he  was 
a  very  devoted  Christian,  regularly  holding  meetings  in  his 
tribe,  on  the  Sabbath,  preaching  to  them  and  exhorting 
them  to  a  belief  in  the  Christian  religion,  and  to  an 
abandonment  of  the  fatal  habit  of  whisky-drinking,  which 
ho  strenuously  represented  as  the  bane  that  was  to  destroy 
them  all,  if  they  did  not  entirely  cease  to  use  it.  I  went 
on  the  Sabbath,  to  hear  this  eloquent  man  preach,  when  ho 
had  his  people  assembled  in  the  woods ;  and  although  I 
could  not  understand  his  language,  I  was  surprised  and 
pleased  with  the  natural  ease  and  emphasis,  and  gesticulation 
which  carried  their  own  evidence  of  the  eloquence  of  his 
sermon. 

I  was  singularly  struck  with  the  noble  efforts  of  this 
champion  of  the  mere  remnant  of  a  poisoned  race,  so 
strenuously  laboring  to  secure  the  remainder  of  his  people 
from  the  deadly  bane  that  has  been  brought  amongst  them 
by  enlightened  Christians.  How  far  the  efforts  of  this 
zealous  man  have  been  succeeded  in  christianizing,  I 
cannot  tell,  but  it  is  quite  certain  that  his  exemplary  and  con- 
stant endeavors  have  completely  abolished  the  practice  of 
drinking  whisky  in  his  tribe ;  which  alone  is  a  very 
praiseworthy  achievement,  and  the  first  and  indispensable 
step  towards  all  other  improvements.  I  was  some  time 
amongst  these  people,  and  was  exceedingly  pleased,  and 
surprised  also,  to  witness  their  sobriety,  and  their  peaceable 
conduct ;  not  having  seen  an  instance  of  drunkenness,  or 
seen  or  heard  of  any  use  made  of  spirituous  liquors  whilst 
I  was  amongst  the  tribe. 

Ah-ton-ive-tuck  (the  cock  turkey),  is  another  Kickapoo  of 
some  distinction,  and  a  disciple  of  the  Prophet;  in  the 
attitude  of  prayer  also,  which  he  is  reading  off  from 
characters  cut  upon  a  stick  that  he  holds  in  his  hands.  It 
was  told  to  mo  in  the  tribe  by  the  Traders  (though  I  ara 
afraid  to  vouch  for  the  wliole  truth  of  it),  that  while  a 
Methodist  preacher  was  soliciting  him  for  permission  to 
preach  in  his  village,  the  Prophet  refused  him  the  privilege, 


1*^ 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


647 


but  secretly  took  him  aside  and  supported  him  until  he 
learned  from  him  his.  creed,  and  his  system  of  teaching  it 
to  others;  when  he  discharged  him,  and  commenced 
preaching  amongst  his  people  himself;  pretending  to  have 
had  an  interview  with  some  superhuman  mission,  or  inspired 
personage;  ingeniously  resolving,  that  if  there  was  any 
honor  or  emolument,  or  influence  to  be  gained  by  the 
promulgation  of  it,  he  might  as  well  have  it  as  another 
person ;  and  with  this  view  he  commenced  preaching  and 
instituted  a  prayer,  which  he  ingeniously  carved  on  a 
maple-stick  of  an  inch  and  a  half  in  breadth,  in  characters 
somewhat  resembling  Chinese  letters.  These  sticks  with 
the  prayers  on  them,  he  has  introduced  into  every  family 
of  the  tribe,  and  into  the  hands  of  every  individual ;  and  as 
he  has  necessarily  the  manufacturing  of  them  all,  he  sells 
them  at  his  own  price ;  and  has  thus  added  lucre  to  fame, 
and  in  two  essential  and  effective  ways,  augmented  his  in- 
fluence in  h'i  tribe.  Every  man,  woman  and  child  in  the 
tribe,  so  far  as  I  saw  them,  were  in  the  habit  of  saying 
their  prayer  from  this  stick  when  going  to  bed  at  night, 
and  also  when  rising  in  the  morning ;  which  was  invariably 
done  by  placing  the  fore-finger  of  the  right  hand  under  the 
upper  character,  until  they  repeat  a  sentence  or  two,  which 
it  suggests  to  them ;  and  then  slipping  it  under  the  next, 
and  the  next,  and  so  on,  to  the  bottom  of  the  stick,  which 
altogether  required  about  ten  minutes,  as  it  was  sung  over 
in  a  sort  of  a  chaunt,  to  the  end. 

Many  people  have  called  all  this  an  ingenious  piece  of 
hypocrisy  on  the  part  of  the  Prophet,  and  whether  it  be  so 
or  not,  I  cannot  decide ;  yet  one  thing  I  can  vouch  to  bo 
true,  that  whether  his  motives  and  his  life  be  as  pure  as  he 
pretends,  or  not,  his  example  has  done  much  towards  cor- 
recting the  habits  of  his  people,  and  has  eflectually  turned 
their  attontion  from  the  destructive  habits  of  dissipation 
and  vice,  to  temperance  and  industry,  in  the  pursuits  of 
agriculture  and  the  ai  ts.  The  world  may  still  be  unwilling 
to  allow  him  much  credit  for  this,  but  I  am  ready  to  award 


■^itm 


iH 


':my^' 


m 


a 


14 


548 


LETTERS   AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


him  a  great  tlc.il,  who  can  by  hie  influence  tlins  far  arrest 
tho  miaeriea  of  disaipation  atul  tho  horrid  deformitioa  of 
vice,  in  the  doscending  prospecta  of  a  nation  who  li;tv(  ■  o 
long  had,  and  still  have,  the  whito-skiu  toachors  vi  vicea 
and  dissipation  amongst  them. 

WEE-AIIS. 

These  are  also  the  remnant  of  a  once  powerful  iriln  .wd 
reduced  by  the  same  causes,  to  the  number  of  two  hundred. 
Thiv  tribe  formerly  lived  in  the  State  of  Indiana,  ami  have 
been  mo'  d  with  the  Piankeshaw's,  to  a  position  forty  or 
fifty  milcb  south  of  Fort  Leavenworth. 

POT-O-WAT-O-MIES. 

The  remains  of  a  tribe  who  were  once  very  numerous  and 
warlike,  but  reduced  by  whisky  and  small-pox,  to  their 
present  number,  which  is  not  more  than  twenty-seven 
hundred.  Tl'i.s  tribe  may  bo  said  to  be  semi-civilized, 
inasmu 'h  as  they  hnve  so  long  lived  in  contiguity  with 
white  people,  with  whom  their  blood  is  considerably  mixed, 
and  whose  modes  and  whose  manners  they  have  in  many 
ivpoctjt  eonied.  From  a  simihirity  of  lan-ruage,  as  well  as 
of  ,'.t;stoms  and  personal  a])pearanee,  there  is  no  doubt  that 
they  have  rormoily  been  a  part  of  the  great  tribe  of  Cliip- 
peways  or  Ot-ta-was,  living  neighbors  and  adjoining  to 
them,  iiH  the  North.  Tiiis  tribe  live  withii  the  state  of 
Michigan,  and  there  own  a  rieli  and  very  valuable  tract  of 
land ;  whieli,  I'ke  the  Kiekapo(ts,  they  are  selling  out  to  tlie 
Government,  and  about  to  remove,  to  the  west  bank  of  tlie 
Missouri,  where  a  part  of  the  tribe  havo  already  gone  and 
settled,  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Leavenworth.  Of  this  tribe 
I  have  painted  the  portraits  of  On-saw-h'e  in  the  attitude  of 
prayer,  and  Ka-pow-sa  (tlie  Bear  travelling  in  tho  night), 
one  of  the  pvineipal  chiefs  of  the  tribe,  i'hese  people  hav3 
for  some  time  lived  neighbors  to,  and  somewhat  under  tho 
influence  of  the  Kickapoos ;  and  very  many  of  the  tribe 
have  become  zealous  disciples  of  the  Kickapoo  prophet. 


;fi 


\v  arrest 
mitica  of 

ot  vices 


tribe,  and 
D  hundred. 
,  ami  have 
)n  forty  or 


mcroug  and 
)X,  to  their 
sventy-seven 
mi-civilizcd, 
tiguity  with 
rubly  mixed, 
,ve  in  many 
Lo,  as^  well  as 
lo  dunbt  that 
Iribc  of  Chip- 
;uV)oiiung   to 
the  state  of 
luablc  tract  of 
\\tr  out  to  the 
.  bank  of  tlie 
[iidy  gone  and 
Of  this  tribe 
Ithc  attitude  of 
in  the  niglit), 
io  peoph;  hav3 
;hat  under  the 
ly  of  the  tribe 
apoo  propbct, 


NORTH  AMERICAN   INDIANS. 


649 


using  his  prayers  moat  devoutly,  and  in  the  manner  that  1 
have  already  described. 

KAS-KAS-KI-AS. 

This  is  the  name  of  a  tribe  that  formerly  occupied,  and  of 
course  owned,  a  vast  tract  o'.  country  lying  on  the  East  of 
the  Mississippi,  and  between  its  banks  and  the  Ohio,  and 
now  forming  a  considerable  portion  of  the  gre:-  and  popu- 
lous state  of  Illinois.  History  furnishes  u^  a  full  aud 
extraordinary  account  of  the  once  warlike  iracter  and 
numbers  of  this  tribe;  and  also  of  the  di."  is  career 

that  they  have  led,  from  their  first  acquaintnuoe  with  civi- 
lized neighbors;  whose  rapacious  avarice  in  grasping  for 
their  fine  lands — with  the  banes  of  whisky  and  small-pox, 
added  to  the  unexampled  cruelty  of  neighboring  hostile 
tribes,  who  have  struck  at  them  in  the  days  of  their  adver- 
sity, and  helped  to  erase  them  from  existence. 

Perhaps  there  has  been  no  other  tribe  on  the  Continent 
of  equal  power  with  the  Kas-kas-ki-as,  that  have  so  sud- 
denly sank  down  to  complete  annihilation  and  disappeared. 
The  remnant  of  this  tribe  have  long  since  merged  into  the 
tribe  of  Peorias  of  Illinois ;  and  it  is  doubtful  whether  one 
dozen  of  them  are  now  existing.  With  the  very  few 
reianants  of  this  tribe  will  die  in  a  few  years  a  beautiful 
language,  entirely  distinct  from  all  others  about  it,  unless 
some  enthusiastic  person  may  preserve  it  from  the  lips  of 
those  few  who  are  yet  able  to  speak  it.  ^ 

PE-0-RI-AS, 

The  name  of  another  tribe,  inhabiting  a  part  of  the  state  of 
Illinois ;  and,  like  the  above  tribes,  but  a  remnant  and  civ- 
ilized (or  cicatrized  to  speak  more  correctly).  This  tribe 
number  about  t"  o  hundred,  and  are,  like  most  of  the  other 
remnants  of  tribes  on  the  frontiers,  under  contract  to  move 
to  the  west  of  the  Missouri.  Of  this  tribe  I  painted  the 
portrait  of  Pah-me-cow-e-tah  (the  man  who  tracks),  and 
Kee-mo-ra-ni-a  (no  English).     These  are  said  to  be  the  most 


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im 

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IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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2.0 


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"^ 


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Sdences 
Corporation 


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33  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER, NY.  MS80 

(716)  87^4503 


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^"^^s 


h 


r 


650 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


influential  men  in  the  tribe,  and  both  were  very  curioasly 
and  well  dressed,  in  articles  of  civilized  manufhcture. 

FI.AN.KE^HAWS. 

The  remnant  of  another  tribe,  of  the  states  of  Illinois  and 
Indiana,  who  have  also  recently  sold  out  their  country  to 
Government,  and  arc  under  contract  to  move  to  the  west 
of  the  Missouri,  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Leavenworth.  Ni-a- 
como  (to  fix  with  the  foot),  a  brave  of  distinction;  and 
Mm-son-te-ah  (the  left  hand),  a  fierce-looking  and  very 
distinguished  warrior  with  a  stone-hatchet  in  his  hand,  are 
&ir  specimens  of  this  reduced  and  enfeebled  tribe,  which 
do  not  number  more  than  one  hundred  and  seventy  persons 
at  this  time. 
■  1  :^cii  ;^fii-t..':i!;';.,.i  ■>..  '   '       y,,^ -j  ■,,,.'t  nt  ii^ih; 

DBLAWARES. 

The  very  sound  of  this  name  has  carried  terror  wherever 
it  has  been  heard  in  the  Indian  wilderness ;  and  it  has  trav- 
elled and  been  known,  as  well  as  the  people,  over  a  very 
great  part  of  the  Continent.  This  tribe  originally  occupied 
a  great  part  of  the  eastern  border  of  Pennsylvania,  and  great 
part  of  the  states  of  New  Jersey  and  Delaware.  No  other 
tribe  on  the  Oontinent  has  been  so  much  moved  and  jostled 
about  by  civilized  invasions ;  and  none  have  retreated  so 
far,  or  fought  their  way  so  desperately,  as  they  have  hon- 
orably and  bravely  contended  for  every  foot  of  the  ground 
they  have  passed  over.  From  the  banks  of  the  Delaware 
to  the  lovely  Susquehanna,  and  my  native  valley,  and  to  the 
base  of,  and  over,  the  Alleghany  mountains,  to  the  Ohio 
river — to  the  Illinois  and  the  Mississippi,  and  at  last  to  the 
West  of  the  Missouri,  they  have  been  moved  by  treaties 
after  treaties  with  the  Government,  who  have  now  assigned 
to  the  mere  handful  of  them  that  are  left,  a  tract  of  land,  as 
has  been  done  a  dozen  times  before,  in  fee  simple,  for  ever  I 
In  every  move  the  poor  fellows  have  made,  they  have  been 
thrust  against  their  wills  from  the  graves  of  their  fathers 
and  their  children ;  and  planted  as  they  now  are,  on  the 


:!\ 


curiottsly 


jture. 


lllnois  and 
country  to 
io  tlie  west 
oTih.   Nira- 
lOtion;  and 
g  and  veiy 
113  Taand,  are 
tribe,  wbict 
renty  persons 


„.'l  ft 


..,!; 


Tfor  wherever 

.tiditbastrav- 

8,  over  a  very 

nally  occupied 

ania,  and  great 

are.    Ko  other 

ved  and  jostled 

kve  retreated  so 

Ibeyhave  hon- 

t  of  the  groiind 

f  the  Pelaware 

,a%,andtothe 

ins,  to  the  Ohio 
.nd  at  last  to  the 

,ved  by  treati^ 
ive  now  assigned 

,  tract  of  land,  as 

e,  they  have  been 
of  their  fathers 
now  are,  on  the 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


651 


borders  of  new  enemies,  where  their  first  occupation  has 
been  to  take  up  their  weapons  in  self  defence,  and  fight  for 
the  ground  they  have  been  planted  on. 

There  is  no  tribe,  perhaps,  amongst  which  greater  and 
more  continued  exertions  have  been  made  for  their  con- 
version to  Christianity ;  and  that  ever  since  the  zealous 
efforts  of  the  Moravian  missionaries,  who  first  began  with 
them;  nor  any,  amongst  whom  those  pious  and  zealous 
efforts  have  been  squandered  more  in  vain ;  which  has, 
probably,  been  owing  to  the  bad  faith  with  which  they 
have  so  often  and  so  continually  been  treated  by  white 
people,  which  has  excited  prejudices  that  have  stood  in 
the  way  of  their  mental  improvement. 

This  scattered  and  reduced  tribe,  which  once  contained 
some  ten  or  fifteen  thousand,  numbers  at  this  time  but 
eight  hundred ;  and  the  greater  part  of  them  have  been  for 
the  fifty  or  sixty  years  past,  residing  in  Ohio  and  Indiana. 
In  these  states,  their  reservations  became  surrounded  by 
white  people,  whom  they  dislike  for  neighbors,  and  their 
lands  too  valuable  for  Indians — and  the  certain  consequence 
has  been,  that  they  have  sold  out  and  taken  lands  West  of 
the  Mississippi ;  on  to  which  they  have  moved,  and  on 
which  it  is,  and  always  will  be,  almost  impossible  to  find 
them,  owing  to  their  desperate  disposition  for  roaming 
about,  indulging  in  the  chase,  and  in  wars  with  their 
enemies.  •  ;,  ■  '■■'  •■ 

The  wild  frontier  on  Which  they  are  now  placed,  affords 
them  so  fine  an  opportunity  to  indulge  both  of  these  pro- 
pensities, that  they  will  be  continually  wandering  in  little 
and  desperate  parties  over  the  vast  buffalo  plains,  and 
exposed  to  their  enemies,  till  at  last  the  new  country 
which  is  given  to  them,  in  *'  fee  simple,  for  ever,"  and  which 
is  destitute  of  game,  will  be  deserted,  and  they,  like  the 
most  of  the  removed  remnants  of  tribes  will  be  destroyed ; 
and  the  faith  of  the  Government  well  preserved,  which  has 
offered  this  as  their  last  move,  and  these  lands  as  theirs  in 
feeaimjale,  forever. 


652 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


In  my  travels  on  the  Upper  Missouri,  and  in  the  Eocky 
Mountains,  I  learned  to  my  utter  astonishment,  that  little 
parties  of  these  adventurous  myrmidons,  of  only  six  or 
eight  in  numbers,  had  visited  those  remote  tribes,  at  two 
thousand  miles  distance ;  and  in  several  instances,  after 
having  cajoled  a  whole  tribe — having  been  feasted  in  their 
villages — having  solemnized  the  articles  of  everlasting 
peace  with  them,  and  received  many  presents  at  their 
hands,  and  taken  affectionate  leave,  have  brought  away 
six  or  eight  scalps  with  them ;  and  nevertheless,  braved 
their  way,  and  defended  themselves  as  they  retreated  in 
safety  out  of  their  enemies'  country,  and  through  the 
regions  of  other  hostile  tribes,  where  they  managed  to 
receive  the  same  honors,  and  come  off  with  similar 
trophies. 

Amongst  this  tribe  there  are  some  renowned  chiefs, 
whose  lives,  if  correctly  written,  would  be  matter  of  the 
most  extraordinary  kind  for  the  reading  world ;  and  of 
which,  it  may  be  in  my  power  at  some  future  time,  to 
give  a  more  detailed  account. 


MO-HEE-CON-NEUHS,  ob  MOHEGANS  (the  good  oanoeuem) 

There  are  four  hundred  of  this  once  powerful  and  still 
famous  tribe,  residing  near  Green  Bay,  on  a  rich  tract  of 
land  giveii  to  them  by  the  Government,  in  the  territory  of 
Wisconsin,  near  Winnebago  lake — on  which  they  are 
living  very  comfortably ;  having  brought  with  them  from 
their  former  country,  in  the  state  of  Massachusetts,  a 
knowledge  of  agriculture,  which  they  had  there  effectually 
learned  and  practiced. 

This  tribe  the  remains,  and  all  that  are  left,  of  the 
once  poweri.  ad  celebrated  tribe  of  Pequots  of  Mas- 
sachusetts. History  tells  us,  that  in  their  wars  and 
dissensions  with  the  whites,  a  considerable  portion  of  the 
tribe  moved  off  under  the  command  of  a  rival  chief,  and 
estiiblished  a  separate  tribe  or  band,  and  took  the  name  of 


: 


KOBTH  AMEftlCAX  INDIANS. 


553 


B  Bocky 
lat  little 
[y  six.  or 
es,  at  two 
ttces,  after 
d  in  their 
(verlasting 
s  at  their 
ight  away 
ess,  braved 
•etreated  ia 
irough  the 
nanaged  to 
ith    similar 

vned  chiefs, 
latter  of  the 
arid;  and  of 
ture  time,  to 


OOD  oanokhkn) 


Mo-hee-con-neuhs,  which  they  have  preserved  until  the 
present  day ;  the  rest  of  the  tribe  having  long  since  been 
extiacfc. 

The  chief  of  this  tribe,  Ee-tow-o-haum  (both  sides  of  the 
river),  which  I  have  painted  at  full  length,  with  a  psalm- 
book  in  one  hand,  and  a  cane  in  the  other,  is  a  very  shrewd 
and  intelligent  man,  and  a  professed  and,  I  think,  sincere 
Christian.  Waun-naw-con  (the  dish),  John  W.  Quinney  in 
civilized  dress,  is  a  civilized  Indian,  well-educated — 
speaking  good  English — ^is  a  Baptist  missionary  preacher, 
and  a  very  plausible  and  eloquent  speaker.       i:  ••,    ^ 

M  0-NEI-DA'S. 

The  remnant  of  a  numerous  tribe  that  have  been  destroyed 
by  wars  with  the  whites — by  whisky  and  smallpox, 
numbering  at  present  but  five  or  six  hundred,  and  living 
in  the  most  miserable  poverty,  on  their  reserve  in  the  state 
of  New  York,  near  Utica  and  the  banks  of  the  Mohawk 
river.  This  tribe  was  one  of  the  confederacy  called  the  Six 
Nations,  and  much  distinguished  in  the  early  history  of 
New  York.  The  present  chief  is  known  by  the  name  of 
Bread.  He  is  a  shrewd  and  talented  man,  well  educated, 
— speaking  good  English — is  handsome,  and  a  polite  and 
gentlemanly  man  in  his  deportment. 


'    '  TUS-KA-RO-RA'S.  '  ' 

Another  of  the  tribe  in  the  confederacy  of  the  Six  Nations, 
once  numerous,  but  reduced  at  the  present  to  the  number 
of  five  hundred.  This  little  tribe  are  living  on  their  reserve, 
a  fine  tract  of  land,  near  Buffalo,  in  the  state  of  New  York, 
and  surrounded  by  civilized  settlements.  Many  of  them 
are  good  farmers,  raising  abundant  and  fine  crops. 

The  chief  of  the  tribe  is  a  very  dignified  man,  by  the 
name  of  Ou-sick^  and  his  son,  of  the  same  name,  whom  I 
have  painted  is  a  very  talented  man — has  been  educated  for 
the  pulpit  in  some  one  of  our  public  institutions,  and  is 


654 


LETTEBS  AKD  NOTES  ON  THE 


now  a  Baptist  preacher   and  I  am  told  a  very  eloquent 
speaker.  i  "  •' ;    i  ■  J: 


8EN-E-CA'S. 


;!-;:: 


One  thousand  two  hundred  in  number,  at  present,  living 
on  their  reserve,  n^ar  Buffalo,  and  within  a  few  miles  of 
Niagara  Falls,  in  the  state  of  New  York.  This  tribe 
formerly  lived  on  the  banks  of  the  Seneca  and  Cayuga 
lakes ;  but,  like  all  the  other  tribes  who  have  stood  in  the 
way  of  the  "  march  of  civilization,"  have  repeatedly  bar- 
gained away  their  country,  and  removed  to  the  West; 
which  easily  accounts  for  the  origin  of  the  familiar  phrase 
that  is  used  amongst  them,  that  "they  are  going  to  the 
setting  sun." 

This  tribe,  when  first  known  to  the  civilized  world,  con- 
tained some  eight  or  ten  thousand ;  and  from  their  position 
in  the  centre  of  the  state  of  New  York,  held  an  important 
place  in  its  history.  The  Senecas  were  one  of  the  most 
numerous  and  effective  tribes,  constituting  the  compact 
called  the  "  Six  Nations ;"  which  was  a  confederacy  formed 
by  six  tribes,  who  joined  in  a  league  as  an  effective  mode 
of  gaining  strength,  and  preserving  themselves  by  combined 
efforts  which  would  be  sufficiently  strong  to  withstand  the 
assaults  of  neighboring  tribes,  or  to  resist  the  incursions 
of  white  people  in  their  country.  This  confederacy 
consisted  of  the  Senecas,  Oneidas,  Onondagas,  Cayugas, 
Mohawks,  and  Tuskaroras;  and  until  the  innovations  of 
white  people,  with  their  destructive  engines  of  war — with 
whisky  and  small-pox,  they  held  their  sway  in  the  country, 
carrying  victory,  and  consequently  terror  and  dismay 
wherever  they  warred.  Their  war-parties  were  fearlessly 
sent  into  Connecticut  and  Massachusetts,  to  Yirginia,  and 
even  to  the  Carolinas,  and  victory  everywhere  crowned 
their  efforts.  Their  combined  strength,  however,  in  all  its 
might,  poor  fellows,  was  not  enough  to  withstand  the  siege 
of  their  insidious  foes — a  destroying  flood  that  has  risen 
and  advanced,  like  a  flood-tide  upon  them,  and  covered 


.  NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


655 


ill 

jent,  living 
}W  miies  of 
This  tribe 
md  Cayuga 
stood  iu  the 
eatedly  bar- 
,  the  West; 
Qiliar  pbrase 
going  to  tbo 

(d  world,  con- 
tbeir  position 
an  important 
e  of  tbe  most 
-  tbe  compact 
sderacy  formed 
effective  mode 
es  by  combined 
witbstand  tbe 
tbe  incursions 
jis   confederacy 
.agas,  Cayugas, 
innovations  ot 
ssof  war— witib 
•  in  tbe  country, 
[or  and   dismay 
were  fearlessly 
to  Virginia,  and 
^bere  crowned 
owever,  in  all  its 
ftbstand  tbe  siege 
.d  tbat  baa  risen 
em,  and  covered 


tbeir  country;  baa  broken  up  tbeir  strong  holds,  bas  driven 
them  from  land  to  land ;  and  in  tbeir  retreat,  bas  drowned 
the  most  of  them  in  its  waves. 

The  Senecas  are  the  most  nnmerous  remnant  of  this 
compact:;  and  have  at  their  head  an  aged  and  very  dis- 
tinguished chief,  familiarly  known  throughout  the  United 
States,  by  the  name  of  Bed  Jacket.  I  painted  his  portrait 
from  the  life^  in  the  costume  in  which  he. is  represented; 
and  indulged  him  also,  in  the  wish  he  expressed,  "that  he 
might  be  seen  standing  on  the  Table  Boqk,  at  the  Falls  of 
Niagara ;  about  which  place  he  thought  his  spirit  would 
linger  after  he  was  dead." 

Oood  Hunter,  and  Hard  Hickory,  are  fair  specimens  of  the 
warriors  of  this  tribe  or  rather  hunters;  or  perhaps,  still 
more  correctly  speaking, /armers;  for  the  Senecas  haye  had 
no  battles  to  £ght  lately,  and  very  little  game  to  kill,  except 
squirrels  and  pheasants ;  and  their  hands  are  turned  to  tbe 
plough,  having  become,  most  of  them,  tolerable  farmers ; 
raising  the  necessaries,  and  many  of  the  luxuries  of  life, 
from  the  soil.  ..<;;, Tr- ^.tt^:f.K.i. 

The  £Eime  as  weU  as  the  face  of  Bed  Jacket,  is  generally 
familiar  to  the  citizens  of  the  United  States  and  the 
Canadas ;  and  for  the  information  of  those  who  have  not 
known  him,  I  will  briefly  say,  that  he  has  been  for  many 
years  the  head  chief  of  the  scattered  remnants  of  that  once 
powerful  compact,  the  Six  Nations ;  a  part  of  whom  reside 
on  their  reservations  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Senecas, 
amounting  perhaps  in  all,  to  about  four  thousand,  and  own- 
ing some  two  hundred  thousand  acres  of  fine  lauds.  Of  this 
Confederacy,  the  Mohawks  and  Cayugas,  chiefly  emigrated 
to  Canada,  some  fifty  years  ago,  leaving  the  Senecas,  the 
Tuskaroras,  Oneidas,  and  Onondagas  in  the  state  of  New 
York,  on  fine  tracts  of  lands,  completely  surrounded  with 
white  population;  who  by  industry  and  enterprise,  are 
making  the  Indian  lands  too  valuable  to  be  long  in  their 
possession,  who  will  no  doubt  be  induced  to  sell  out  to  the 
Government,  or,  in  other  words,  to  exchange  them  for  lands 


556 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


West  of  the  Mississippi,  where  it  is  the  avowed  intention 
of  the  Government  to  remove  all  the  border  tribes.  * 

Red  Jacket  has  been  reputed  one  of  the  greatest  orators 
of  his  day;  and  no  doubt,  more  distinguished  for  his 
eloquence  and  his  influence  in  council,  than  as  a  warrior, 
in  which  character  I  think  history  has  not  said  much  of 
him.  This  may  be  owing,  in  a  great  measure,  to  the  fact 
that  the  wars  of  his  nation  were  chiefly  fought  before  his 
fighting  days ;  and  that  the  greater  part  of  his  life  and  his 
talents  have  been  spent  with  his  tribe,  during  its  downfall ; 
where,  instead  of  the  horrors  of  Indian  wars,  they  have  had 
a  more  fatal  and  destructive  enemy  to  encounter,  in  the 
insidious  encroachments  of  pale  faces,  which  he  has  been 
for  many  years  exerting  his  eloquence  and  all  his  talents  to 
resist.  Poor  old  chief— not  all  the  eloquence  of  Cicero 
and  Demosthenes  would  be  able  to  avert  the  calamity, 
that  awaits  his  declining  nation — to  resist  the  despoiling 
hand  of  mercenary  white  man,  that  opens  and  spreads 
liberally,  but  to  entrap  the  unwary  and  ignorant  within  its 
withering  grasp. 

This  talented  old  man  has  for  many  years  past,  stren- 
uously remonstrated  both  to  the  Governor  of  New  York, 
and  the  President  of  the  United  States,  against  the 
encroachments  of  white  people ;  whom  he  represented  as 
using  every  endeavor  to  wrest  from  them  their  lands — to 
destroy  their  game,  introducing  vices  of  a  horrible  character, 
and  unknown  to  his  people  by  nature  1  and  most  vehem- 
ently of  all,  has  he  continually  remonstrated  against  the 
preaching  of  missionaries  in  his  tribe ;  alleging,  that  the 
"  black  coats  "  (as  he  calls  the  clergymen),  did  more  mischief 
than  good  in  his  tribe,  by  creating  doubts  and  dissensions 
amongst  his  people  I  which  are  destructive  of  his  peace,  and 

*  Since  the  above  was  written,  the  Senecas  and  all  the  other  remnants 
of  the  Six  Nations  residing  in  the  state  of  New  York,  have  agreed  in 
Treaties  with  the  United  States  to  remove  to  tracts  of  country  assigned 
them,  West  of  the  Mississippi,  twelve  hundred  miles  from  their  reserva* 
lions  in  the  state  of  New  York. 


atention 

,t  oratoT8 

for  his 
k  warrior, 
much  of 
0  the  fact 
before  his 
fe  and  his 

downfall ; 
J  have  had 
iter,  in  the 
e  has  heen 
is  talents  to 
,e  of  Cicero 
e  calamity, 
3  despoiling 
and  spreads 
int  within  its 

s  past,  stren- 
f  New  York, 

against  the 
epresented  as 
leir  lands— to 
ible  character, 

mostvehem- 
jd  against  the 
ging,  that  the 

more  mischief 
,iid  dissensions 
f  his  peace,  and 

ho  other  remnantB 

rk,bave  agreed  m 

)f  country  asBigned 

■from  their  reservw 


KORTn  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


567 


dangerous  to  the  suocoss,  and  even  existence  qf  his  tribe. 
Like  many  other  great  men  who  endeavor  to  soothe  broken 
and  painful  feelings,  by  the  kindness  of  the  bottle,  he  has 
long   since    taken  up  whisky-drinking  to  excess;    and 


■I   >.,\ifU.^  J' 


■I   i 


wuisKT  OBiranro. 


much  of  his  time,  lies  drunk  in  his  cabin,  or  under  the 
comer  of  a  fence,  or  wherever  else  its  kindness  urges  the 
necessity  of  his  dropping  his  helpless  body  and  limbs,  to 
indulge  in  the  delightful  sjoell.    He  is  as  great  a  drunkard 


568 


LETTERS  AND  KOTES  OJH  THE 


as  some  of  our  most  distinguished  law-givers  and  law- 
makers ;  and  yet  ten  times  more  culpable^  as  he  has  little  to 
do  in  life,  and  wields  the  destinies  of  a  nation  in  his 
hands  1  * 

There  are  no  better  people  to  be  found,  than  the  Seneoa 
Indians — none  that  I  know  of  that  are  by  Nature  more 
talented  and  ingenious :  nor  any  that  would  be  found  to  be 
better  neighbors,  if  the  arts  and  abuses  of  white  men  and 
whisky,  could  be  kept  away  from  them.  They  have 
mostly  laid  down  their  hunting  habits,  and  become  efficient 
farmers,  raising  fine  crops  of  corn,  and  a  great  abundance 
of  hogs,  cattle  and  horses,  and  other  necessaries  and 
luxuries  of  life. 

I-R0-QU0I8. 

One  of  the  most  numerous  and  powerful  tribes  that  ever 
existed  in  the  Northern  regions  of  our  country,  and  now 
one  of  the  most  completely  annihilated.  This  tribe  occupied 
a  vast  tract  of  country  on  the  Biver  St.  Lawrence,  between 
its  banks  and  Lake  Champlain ;  and  at  times,  by  conquest, 
actually  over-run  the  whole  country,  from  that  to  the  shores 
of  Lakes  Erie,  Huron,  and  Michigan.  But  by  their  con- 
tinual wars  witlii  the  French,  English,  and  Indians,  and 
dissipation  and  disease,  they  have  been  almost  entirely  an- 
nihilated. The  few  remnants  of  them  have  long  since 
merged  into  other  tribes,  and  been  mostly  lost  sight  off 

*Thi8  celebrated  chief  died  seTeral  yesrs  since,  in  his  Tillage  near 
Buffalo ;  and  since  his  death  oar  fkmoas  comedian,  Mr.  Flacide,  has 
erected  a  handsome  and  appropriate  monament  over  his  grave ;  and  I 
am  pleased  also  to  learn,  that  my  friend,  Wm.  L.  Stone,  Esq.,  is  building 
him  a  still  more  lasting  one  in  history,  which  he  is  compiling,  of  the  life 
of  ibis  extraordinary  man,  to  an  early  perusal  of  which  I  can  confidently 
refer  the  world  for  much  curious  and  valuable  information. 

t  The  whole  of  the  Six  Nations  have  been  by  some  writers  denomina- 
ted  Iroqnoie — ^how  correct  this  may  be,  I  am  not  quite  able  to  say ;  one 
thing  is  certain,  that  is,  that  the  Iroquois  tribe  did  not  all  belong  to 
that  Confederacy,  their  original  country  was  on  the  shores  of  the  St 
Lawrence;  and,  although  one  branch  of  their  nation,  the  Mohawks, 


=J 


NORTH  AUERICAN  INDIANS. 


659 


ind  law- 
little  to 
a.  in  bis 

lo  Seneca 
,ure  more 
und  to  be 
J  men  and 
?lxey  bave 
ae  efficient 
abundance 
isariea  and 


B8  tbat  ever 
ry,  and  now 
ibe  occupied 
noe,  between 
by  conquest, 
itothesbores 
ijy  tbeir  con- 
jidians,  and 
it  entirely  an- 
long  since 
ost  ngbt  of.t 


big  tillage  near 
j£r.  Placide,  haa 
his  gra^e ;  and  I 
,  Esq.,  is  building 
ipiUng.of  thelife 
[  can  confidently 

tion. 

writers  denomina- 
e  able  to  say,  one 
not  all  belong  to 
f  Bhores  of  tbe  St 
on,  tbe  Mobawks, 


Of  tbis  tribe  I  bave  painted  but  one,  Noto-way  {the  tbinker). 
This  was  an  excellent  man,  and  was  handsomely  dressed 
for  his  picture.  I  had  much  conversation  with  him,  and 
became  very  much  attached  to  him.  He  seemed  to  be 
quite  ignorant  of  the  early  history  of  his  tribe,  as  well  as  of 
the  position  and  condition  of  its  few  scattered  remnants, 
who  are  yet  in  existence.  He  told  me,  however,  tbat  he 
had  always  learned  that  the  Iroquois  had  conquered  nearly 
all  the  world ;  but  the  Great  Spirit  being  offended  at  the 
great  slaughters  by  his  favorite  people,  resolved  to  punish 
them ;  and  he  sent  a  dreadful  disease  amongst  them,  that 
carried  the  most  of  them  o£F,  and  all  the  rest  that  could  be 
found,  were  killed  by  their  enemies — that  though  he  was 
an  Iroquois,  which  he  was  proud  to  acknowledge  to  me,  as 
I  was  to  "  make  him  live  after  he  was  dead ;"  he  wished  it 
to  be  generally  thought,  that  he  was  a  Chippeway,  that  he 
might  live  as  long  as  the  Great  Spirit  had  wished  it  when 
he  made  him.* 

formed  a  part,  and  the  most  effective  portion  of  that  compact,  yet  the 
other  members  of  it  spoke  different  langnages ;  and  a  great  part  of  the 
Iroquois  moved  their  settlements  farther  North  and  East,  instead  of 
joining  in  the  continoal  wars  carried  on  by  the  Six  Nations.  It  is  of 
this  part  of  the  tribe  that  I  am  speaking,  when  I  mention  them  as  nearly 
extinct. 

*  Since  the  above  Letter  was  written,  all  the  tribes  and  remnants  of 
tribes  mentioned  in  it  have  been  removed  by  the  Oovernment,  to  lands 
West  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri,  given  to  them  in  addition  to  con- 
riderable  annuities,  in  consideration  for  the  immense  tracts  of  conntry 
they  have  left  on  the  frontier,  and  within  the  States.  There  are  also 
other  tribes  who  have  been  removed  by  Treaty  stipulations,  in  the 
same  way,  which  are  treated  of  in  subsequent  Letters.  The  Qovern* 
ment,  under  General  Jackson,  strenuously  set  forth  and  carried  out, 
the  policy  of  removing  all  the  semi-civilized  and  border  Indians,  to  a 
country  West  of  the  Mississippi ;  and  although  the  project  had  many 
violent  opponents,  yet  there  were  many  strong  reasons  in  favor  of  it, 
and  the  thing  hcu  been  at  Uut  done;  and  a  few  years  will  decide,  by 
the  best  of  all  arguments,  whether  the  policy  was  a  good  one  or  not. 


t,.4 


.-r'  ' 


.■    >  ■!  ,  1  .  .('.  =  ' 


'  '!  .(       I      ■  I'  •) !  I.    ■  ,.      .■     :■      .  ■    ■     IHXI'I     '••(        ■     ( 

</l^*r      ..II  ■■•■■■.     ._!,,         ,      „ 


LETTER  No.  XLVHI. 


ST.  LOUIS. 


Whilst  I  am  thus  taking  a  hasty  glance  at  the  tribes 
on  the  Atlantic  Coast,  on  the  borders  of  Mexico,  and  the 
confines  of  Canada,  the  reader  will  pardon  me  for  taking 
him  for  a  few  minutes  to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  ou 
the  Pacific  Coast;  which  place  I  have  not  yet  quite 
reached  myself,  in  my  wild  rambles,  but  most  undoubtedly 
shall  ere  long,  if  my  strolling  career  be  not  suddenly  stop- 
ped. I  scarcely  need  tell  the  reader  where  the  Columbia 
River  is  since  its  course  and  its  character  have  been  so 
often,  and  so  well  described,  by  recent  travellers  through 
those  regions.  I  can  now  but  glance  at  this  remote  country 
and  its  customs ;  and  revert  to  it  again  after  I  shall  have 
(560) 


3. Ml'    '1^ 

1     ^'■'         ' 


.         t      I 


at  the  tribes 
jxico,  and  tlio 
[mo  for  taking 

Columbia,  on 

,aot   yet  q^^te 
Lt  undoubtedly 
suddenly  stop- 
the  Columbia 
have  been  BO 
/ellers  througlx 
remote  country 
ler  T  stall  bave 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


661 


examined  it  in  all  its  parts,  and  collected  my  materials  for 
a  fuller  account. 

FLAT  HEADS. 

These  are  a  very  numerous  people,  inhabiting  the  shores 
of  the  Columbia  River,  and  a  vast  tract  of  country  lying 
to  the  South  of  it,  and  living  in  a  country  which  is 
exceedingly  sterile  and  almost  entirely,  in  many  parts, 
destitute  of  game  for  the  subsistence  of  the  savage ;  they 
are  mostly  obliged  to  live  on  roots,  which  they  dig  from 
the  ground,  and  fish  which  they  take  from  the  streams; 
the  consequences  of  which  are,  that  they  are  generally 
poor  and  miserably  clad ;  and  in  no  respect  equal  to  the 
Indians  of  whom  I  have  heretofore  spoken,  who  live  on 
the  East  of  the  Bocky  Mountains,  in  the  ranges  of  tbo 
buffaloes;  and  where  they  are  well-fed,  and  mostly  have 
good  horses  to  ride,  and  materials  in  abundance  for  manu- 
facturing their  beautiful  and  comfortable  dresses. 

The  people  generally  denominated  Flat  Heads,  are  divided 
into  a  great  many  bands,  and  although  they  have  undoubt- 
edly got  their  name  from  the  custom  of  flattening  the  head ; 
yet  there  are  but  very  few  of  those  so  denominated,  who 
actually  practice  that  extraordinary  custom. 

The  Nez  Perces  who  inhabit  the  upper  waters  and 
mountainous  parts  of  the  Columbia,  are  a  part  of  this 
tribe,  though  they  are  seldom  known  to  flatten  the  head 
like  those  lower  down,  and  about  the  mouth  of  the  river. 
HeeoKks-te-kin  (the  rabbit  skin  leggings),  and  H'co-a-Kco-a- 
Kcotes-min  (no  horns  on  his  head),  are  young  men  of  this 
tribe.  These  two  young  men,  when  I  painted  them,  were 
in  beautiful  Sioux  dresses,  which  had  been  presented  to 
them  in  a  talk  with  the  Sioux,  who  treated  them  very 
kindly,  while  passing  through  the  Sioux  country.  These 
two  men  were  part  of  a  delegation  that  came  across  the 
Rocky  Mountains  to  St.  Louis,  a  few  years  since?*"  to 
inquire  for  the  truth  of  a  representation  which  they  said 
some  white  man   had  made  amongst  them,   "  that  our 

36 


I'if  ;i  Si 


562 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


religion  was  better  than  theirs,  and  that  they  would  all 
be  lost  if  they  did  not  embrace  it."  ' 

Two  old  and  venerable  men  of  this  party  died  in  St. 
Louis,  and  I  travelled  two  thousand  miles,  companion  with 
these  two  young  fellows,  towards  their  own  country,  and 
became  much  pleased  with  their  manners  and  dispositions. 

The  last  mentioned  of  the  two,  died  near  the  mouth  of 
the  Yellow  Stone  River  on  his  way  home,  witb  disease 
which  he  had  contracted  in  the  civilized  district ;  and  the 
other  one  I  have  since  learned,  arrived  safely  amongst  his 
friends,  conveying  to  them  the  melancholy  intelligence  of 
the  deaths  of  all  the  rest  of  his  party ;  but  assurances  at  the 
same  time,  from  General  Clark,  and  many  reverend  gen- 
tlemen, that  the  report  which  they  had  heard  was  well 
founded;  and  that  missionaries,  good  and  religious  men, 
would  soon  come  amongst  them  to  teach  this  religion,  so 
that  they  could  all  understand  and  have  the  benefits  of  it. 

When  I  first  heard  the  report  of  the  object  of  this  extra- 
ordinary mission  across  the  mountains,  I  could  scarcely 
believe  it ;  but  on  conversing  with  General  Clark  on  a  future 
occasion,  I  was  fully  convinced  of  the  fact ;  and  I,  like  thous- 
ands of  others,  have  had  the  satisfaction  of  witnessing  the 
complete  success  that  has  crowned  the  bold  and  daring  ex- 
ertions of  Mr.  Lee  and  Mr.  Spalding,  two  reverend  gentle- 
men who  have  answered  in  a  Christian  manner  to  this 
unprecedented  call ;  and  with  their  wives  have  crossed  the 
most  rugged  wilds  and  wildernesses  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
and  triumphantly  proved  to  the  world,  that  the  Indians,  in 
their  native  wilds  are  a  kind  and  friendly  people,  and 
susceptible  of  mental  improvement. 

I  had  long  been  of  the  opinion,  that  to  ensure  siccess, 
the  exertions  of  pious  men  should  be  carried  into  the  heart 
of  the  wilderness,  beyond  the  reach  and  influence  of  civ- 
ilized vices ;  and  T  so  expressed  my  opinion  to  the  Reverend 
Mr  Spalding  and  his  lady,  in  Pittsburg,  when  on  their 
way,  in  their  first  tour  to  that  distant  country.  I  have 
seen  the  Reverend  Mr.  Lee  and  several  others  of  the  mission, 


Duld  all 

)d  in  St. 
lion  vritli 
ntry,  and 
jpoaitions. 
tnoutli  of 
th  disease  | 

t;  and  tlie  | 

mongst  his  | 

slligence  of  j, 

ances  at  tlie  | 

verend  gen-  \ 

d  was  vrell 
igious  men, 
s  religion,  so 
nefits  of  it. 
of  tliis  extra- 
3uld  scarcely 
irk  on  a  future 
[  I,  like  tlious- 
vitnessing  the 
ind  daring  ex- 
verend  gentle- 
lanner  to  tUs 
tve  ci'ossed  tlie 
cky  Mountains, 
he  Indians,  in 
y  people,  and 

ensure  S'lccess, 
d  into  the  heart 
influence  of  civ- 

to  the  Reverend 

vrhen  on  their 
Country.    Il^ave 

,rs  of  the  mission, 


NORTH  AMKBICAN  INDIANS. 


563 


several  years  since  the  formation  of  their  school ;  as  well  as 
several  gentlemen  who  have  visited  their  settlement,  and 
from  all,  I  am  fuUy  convinced  of  the  complete  success  of 
these  excellent  and  persevering  gentlemen,  in  proving  to 
the  world  the  absurdity  of  the  assertion  that  has  been  often 
made,  "  that  the  Indian  can  never  be  civilized  or  christian- 
ized." Their  uninterrupted  transit  over  such  a  vast  and 
wild  journey,  also  with  their  wives  on  horseback,  who  were 
everywhere  on  their  way,  as  well  as  amongst  the  tribes 
where  they  have  located,  treated  with  the  utmost  kind- 
ness and  respect,  bears  strong  testimony  to  the  assertions  so 
often  made  by  travellers  in  those  countries,  that  these  are,  in 
their  native  state,  a  kind  and  excellent  people.  ♦  .'t  ^  ^ 
I  hope  I  shall  on  a  future  occasion,  be  fible  to  give  the 
reader  some  further  detailed  account  of  the  success  of  these 
zealous  and  excellent  men,  whose  example,  of  penetrating 
to  the  heart  of  the  Indian  country,  and  there  teaching  the 
Indian  in  the  true  and  effective  way,  will  be  a  lasting  honor 
to  themselves,  and  I  fully  believe,  a  permanent  benefit  to 
those  ignorant  and  benighted  people. 

THE  CHINOOKS, 

Inhabiting  the  lower  parts  of  the  Columbia,  are  a  small 
tribe,  and  correctly  come  under  the  name  of  Flat-Heads,  as 
they  are  almost  the  only  people  who  strictly  adhere  to  the 
custom  of  squeezing  and  flattening  the  head ;  which  is  done 
by  placing  the  back  on  a  board,  or  thick  plank,  to  which  it 
is  lashed  by  thongs,  to  a  position  from  which  it  cannot 
escape,  and  the  back  of  the  head  supported  by  a  sort  of  pil- 
low, made  of  moss  or  rabbit  skins,  with  an  inclined  piece, 
resting  on  the  forehead ;  being  every  day  drawn  down  a 
little  tighter  by  means  of  a  cord,  which  holds  it  in  its  place, 
until  it  at  length  touches  the  nose ;  thus  forming  a  straight 
line  from  the  crown  of  the  head  to  the  end  of  the  nose. 

This  process  is  seemingly  a  very  cruel  one,  though  I  doubt 
whether  it  causes  much  pain:   as  it  is  done  in  earliest 


n 


im 


it-i 


664 


LETTERS   AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


infancy,  whilst  the  bones  are  soft  and  cartilaginous,  and 
easily  pressed  into  this  distorted  shape,  by  forcing  the 
occipital  up,  and  the  frontal  down ;  so  that  the  skull  at  the 
top,  in  profile,  will  show  a  breadth  of  not  more  than  an 
inch  and  a  half,  or  two  inches;  when  in  a  front  view  it 
exhibits  a  great  expansion  on  the  sides,  making  it  at  the 
top,  nearly  the  width  of  one  and  a  half  natural  heads. 

By  this  remarkable  operation,  the  brain  is  singularly 
changed  from  its  natural  shape ;  but  in  all  probability,  not 
in  the  least  diminished  or  injured  in  its  natural  functions. 
This  belief  is  drawn  from  the  testimony  of  many  credible 
witnesses,  who  have  closely  scrutinized  them;  and  ascer- 
tained that  those  who  have  the  head  flattened,  are  in  no  way 
inferior  in  intellectual  powers  to  those  whose  heads  are  in 
their  natural  shapes. 

In  the  process  of  flattening  the  head,  there  is  often  another 
form  of  crib  or  cradle,  into  which  the  child  is  placed,  much 
in  the  form  of  a  small  canoe,  dug  out  of  a  log  of  wood,  with 
a  cavity  just  large  enough  to  admit  the  body  of  the  child, 
and  the  head  also,  giving  it  room  to  expand  in  width ;  while 
from  the  head  of  the  cradle  there  is  a  sort  of  a  lever,  with 
an  elastic  spring  to  it  that  comes  down  on  the  forehead  of 
the  child,  and  produces  the  same  e£fccts  as  the  one  I  have 
above  described. 

The  child  is  wrapped  in  rabbits'  skins,  and  placed  in  this 
little  coffin-like  looking  cradle,  from  which  it  is  not,  in  some 
instances,  taken  out  for  several  weeks.  The  bandages  over 
and  about  the  lower  limbs,  and  as  high  up  as  the  breast,  are 
loose,  and  repeatedly  taken  off  in  the  same  day,  as  the  child 
may  require  cleansing ;  but  the  head  and  shoulders  are  kept 
strictly  in  the  same  position,  and  the  breast  given  to  the 
child  by  holding  it  up  in  the  cradle,  loosing  the  outer  end 
of  the  lever  that  comes  over  the  nose,  and  raising  it  up  or 
turning  it  aside,  so  as  to  allow  the  child  to  come  at  the  breast 
without  moving  its  head. 

The  length  of  time  that  the  infants  are  generally  carried 
in  these  cradles  is  three,  five,  or  eight  weeks,  until  the  bones 


\^:^ 


3U8,  and 
cing  the 
uU  at  the 
)  than  an 
it  view  it 
;  it  at  the 

tads, 
singularly 

ibility,  not 
I  functions, 
ny  credible 
and  ascer- 
•e  in  no  way 
aeads  are  in 

)ften  another 

jlaced,  much 

jf  wood,  with 
of  the  child, 

width;  while 
a  lever,  with 
le  forehead  of 
;e  one  I  have 

placed  in  this 
isnotjinaome 
Ibandages  over 
I  the  breast,  are 
ly,  as  the  child 
aiders  are  kept 
}t  given  to  the 
;  the  outer  end 

raising  it  up  or 
le  at  the  breast 

jnerally  carried 
until  the  bones 


KOBTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


665 


ore  so  formed  as  to  keep  their  shapes,  and  preserve  this  sin* 
gular  appearance  through  life. 

This  little  cradle  has  a  strap,  which  passes  over  the  wo- 
man's forehead  whilst  the  cradle  rides  on  her  back ;  and  if  the 
child  dies  during  its  subjection  to  this  rigid  mode,  its  cradle 
becomes  its  coffin,  forming  a  little  canoe,  in  which  it  lies 
floating  on  the  water  in  some  sacred  pool,  where  they  are 
often  in  the  habit  of  fastening  the  canoes,  containing  the 
dead  bodies  of  the  old  and  the  young;  or  which  is  often  the 


PAF008B8  AMD  0BADLI8. 


case,  elevated  into  the  branches  of  trees,  where  their  bodies 
are  left  to  decay,  and  their  bones  to  dry ;  whilst  they  are 
bandaged  in  many  skins,  and  curiously  packed  in  their 
canoes,  with  paddles  to  propel,  and  ladles  to  bail  them  out, 
and  provisions  to  last,  and  pipes  to  smoke,  as  they  are 
performing  their  "  long  journey  after  death,  to  their  contem- 
plated hunting  grounds,"  which  these  people  think  is  to 
be  performed  in  their  canoes. 


566 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


This  mode  of  flattening  the  head  ia  certainly  one  of  the 
most  unaccountable,  as  well  as  unmeaning  customs,  found 
amongst  the  North  American  Indians.  What  it  could  have 
originated  in,  or  for  what  purpose,  other  than  a  mere  useless 
fashion,  it  could  have  been  invented,  no  human  being  can 
probably  ever  tell.  The  Indians  have  many  curious  and 
ridiculous  fashions,  which  have  come  into  existence  no  doubt, 
by  accident,  and  are  of  no  earthly  use  (like  many  silly 
fashions  in  enlightened  society),  yet  they  are  perpetuated 
much  longer,  and  that  only  because  their  ancestors  practiced 
them  in  ages  gone  by.  The  greater  part  of  Indian  modes, 
however,  and  particularly  those  that  are  accompanied  with 
much  pain  or  trouble  in  their  enactment,  are  most  wonder- 
fully adapted  to  the  production  of  some  good  or  useful 
results ;  for  which  the  inquisitive  world,  I  am  sure,  may  for 
ever  look  in  vain  to  this  stupid  and  useless  fashion,  that  has 
most  unfortunately  been  engendered  on  these  ignorant 
people,  whose  superstition  forbids  them  to  lay  it  down. 

It  is  a  curious  fact,  and  one  that  should  be  mentioned 
here,  that  these  people  have  not  been  alone  in  this  strange 
custom;  but  that  it  existed  and  was  practiced  precisely  the 
same  until  recently  amongst  the  Chootaws  and  Chickasaws ; 
who  occupied  a  large  part  of  the  states  of  Mississippi  and 
Alabama,  where  they  have  laid  their  bones,  and  hundreds 
of  their  skulls  have  been  procured,  bearing  incontrovertible 
evidence  of  a  similar  treatment  with  similar  results. 

The  Choctaws  who  are  now  living,  do  not  flatten  the 
head ;  the  custom  like  that  of  the  medicine-bag^  and  many 
others,  which  the  Indians  have  departed  from,  from  the  as- 
surances of  white  people,  that  they  were  of  no  use,  and  were 
utterly  ridiculous  to  bo  followed.  Whilst  amongst  the  Choc- 
taws, I  could  learn  little  more  from  the  people  about  such  a 
custom,  than  that  "their  old  men  recollected  to  have  heard 
it  spoken  of" — which  is  much  less  satisfactory  evidence  than 
inquisitive  white  people  get  by  referring  to  the  grave, 
which  the  Indian  never  meddles  with.  The  distance  of  the 
Choctaws  from  the  country  of  the  Chinooks,  is  certainly 


NORTH  AM£xiICAN  INDIANS. 


667 


ne  of  tlxo 
ims,  found 
sould  havo 
ere  useless 
being  can 
urious  and 
e  no  doubt, 
many  silly  \ 

perpetuated  | 

>rs  practiced 
dian  modes, 
ipanied  with 
aost  wonder- 
)d  or  useful 
gure,  may  for 
dion,  that  has 
lese  ignorant 

it  down, 
"be  mentioned 
n  this  strange 
I  precisely  the 
iCJhickasaws; 
lississippi  and 

and  hundreds 
icontrovertible 

results. 

not  flatten  the 
bag,  and  many 
m,  from  the  as- 
o  use,  and  were 
longsttheChoc- 
)le  about  such  a 
I  to  have  heard 
.y  evidence  than 
■  to  the  grave, 
|e  distance  of  the 
)k3   is  certainly 


between  two  and  three  thousand  miles ;  and  there  being  no 
intervening  tribes  practicing  the  same  custom,  and  no 
probability  that  any  two  tribes  in  a  state  of  Nature,  would 
ever  hit  upon  so  peculiar  an  absurdity,  we  come,  whether 
willingly  or  not,  to  the  conclusion,  that  these  tribes  must  at 
some  former  period,  have  lived  neighbors  to  each  other,  or 
have  been  parts  of  the  same  family ;  which  time  and  cir- 
cumstances have  gradually  removed  to  s  loh  a  very  great 
distance  from  each  other.  Nor  does  this,  ia  my  opinion  (as 
many  suppose),  furnish  any  very  strong  evidence  in  support 
of  the  theory,  that  the  different  tribes  have  all  sprung  from  one 
stock ;  but  carries  a  strong  argument  to  the  other  side,  by 
furnishing  proof  of  the  very  great  tenacity  these  people  have 
for  their  peculiar  customs ;  many  of  which  are  certainly  not 
general,  but  often  carried  from  one  end  of  the  Continent  to 
the  other,  or  from  ocean  to  ocean,  by  bands  or  sections  of 
tribes,  which  often  get  "  run  off"  by  their  enemies  in  wars, 
or  in  hunting,  as  I  have  before  described ;  where  to  emigrate 
to  a  vast  distance  is  not  so  unaccountable  a  thing,  but  almost 
the  inevitable  result,  of  a  tribe  that  have  got  set  in  motion, 
all  the  way  amongst  deadly  foes,  in  whose  countries  it  would 
be  fatal  to  stop. 

I  am  obliged  therefore,  to  believe,  that  either  the  Chin- 
ooks  emigrated  from  the  Atlantic,  or  that  the  Choctaws  came 
from  the  west  side  of  the  Eocky  Mountains ;  and  I  regret 
exceedingly  that  I  have  not  been  able  as  yet,  to  compare  the 
languages  of  these  two  tribes,  in  which  I  should  expect  to 
find  some  decided  resemblance.  They  might,  however,  have 
been  near  neighbors,  and  practising  a  copied  custom  where 
there  was  no  resemblance  in  their  language. 

Whilst  among  the  Choctaws  I  wrote  down  from  the  lips 
of  one  of  their  chiefs,  the  following  tradition,  which  seems 
strongly  to  favor  the  supposition  that  they  came  from  a 
great  distance  in  the  West,  and  probably  from  beyond  the 
Rocky  Mountains : — Tradition.  "The  Choctaws  a  great  many 
winters  ago,  commenced  moving  from  the  country  where 
they  then  lived,  which  was  a  great  distance  to  the  west  of 


568 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


the  great  river,  and  tlie  mountains  of  gnow:  and  they  were 
a  great  many  years  on  their  way.  A  great  medicine-man 
led  them  the  whole  way,  by  going  before  with  a  red  pole, 
which  he  stuck  in  the  ground  every  night  where  they  en- 
camped. This  pole  was  every  morning  found  leaning  to  the 
East ;  and  he  told  them  that  they  must  continue  to  travel  to 
the  East  until  the  pole  would  stand  upright  in  their 
encampment,  and  that  there  the  Great  Spirit  had  directed 
that  they  should  live.  At  a  place  which  they  named  Nak- 
ne-wa-ye  (the  sloping  hill),  the  pole  stood  straight  up,  where 
they  pitched  their  encampment,  which  was  one  mile  square, 
with  the  men  encamped  on  the  outside,  and  the  women  and 
children  in  the  centre ;  which  is  the  centre  of  the  old  Choc- 
taw nation  to  'this  day.'  " 

In  the  vicinity  of  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  there  are 
besides  the  Ohinooks,  the  Klich-a-tacks,  Cheehaylas,  Na-as, 
and  many  other  tribes,  whose  customs  are  interesting,  and 
of  whose  manufactures,  my  Museum  contains  many  very 
curious  and  interesting  specimens. 

The  Indians  who  inhabit  the  rugged  wildernesses  of  the 
Eocky  Mountains,  are  chiefly  the  Blackfeet  and  Crows,  of 
whom  I  have  heretofore  spoken,  and  the  Shoshonees  or 
Snakes,  who  are  a  part  of  the  Camanchees,  speaking  the  same 
language,  and  the  Shoshokies  or  root-diggers,  who  inhabit 
the  southern  parts  of  those  vast  and  wild  realms,  with  the 
Arapohoes  and  Navahoes,  who  are  neighbours  to  the 
Camanchees  on  the  West,  having  Santa  Fe  on  the  South, 
and  the  coast  of  California  on  the  West.  Of  the  Shosho- 
nees and  Shoshokies,  all  travellers  who  have  spoken  of 
them,  give  them  a  good  character,  as  a  kind  and  hospitable 
and  harmless  people;  to  which  fact  I  could  cite  the 
unquestionable  authorities  of  the  excellent  Rev.  Mr.  Parker, 
who  has  published  his  interesting  Tour  across  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  Lewis  and  Clarke,  Capt.  Bonneville  and  others; 
and  I  allege  it  to  be  a  truth,  that  the  reason  why  we  find 
them  as  they  are  uniformly  described,  a  kind  and  inoffensive 
people,  is,  that  they  have  not  as  yet  been  abused — that  they 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


669 


are  ia  their  primitive  state,  as  the  Great  Spirit  made  and 
endowed  them  with  good  hearts  and  kind  feelings,  unalloyed 
and  untainted  by  the  vices  of  the  money-making  world. 

To  the  same  fact,  relative  to  the  tribes  on  the  Columbia 
river,  I  have  been  allowed  to  quote  the  .authority  of 
H.  Beaver,  a  very  worthy  and  kind  Eeverend  Gentleman 
of  England,  who  has,  been  for  several  years  past  living  with 
these  people,  and  writes  to  me  thus : — 

"I  shall  be  always  ready,  with  pleasure,  to  testify  my 
perfect  accordance  with  the  sentiments  I  have  heard  you 
express,  both  in  your  public  lectures,  and  private  conver- 
sation, relative  to  the  much-traduced  character  of  our  Red 
brethren,  particularly  as  it  relates  to  their  honesty^  hospitality 
and  p^iceablenesSf  throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  the 
C!olumbia.  Whatever  of  a  contrary  disposition  has  at  any 
time,  in  those  parts,  been  displayed  by  tbem,  has,  I  am  per- 
suaded been  exotic,  and  forced  on  them  by  the  depravity 
and  impositions  of  the  white  Traders."  > '  -  - 


.;  /  /    u 


.  ,/  ■ 


■..  I  'I 


f    1.    1    .      1     ■ 

:.■  n'.-  ■:  1 

.1  ,  •  ,;,,,. 

1  • .'  i            '  ■* 

■..,-.      '4    ./ 

r    ;■••    •! 

'V..'.f     I 

LETTER  No.  XLIX. 


ST.  LOUIS. 

IK  one  of  my  last  Letters  from  Fort  Gibson,  written 
some  months  since,  I  promised  to  open  my  note-book  on  a 
future  occasion,  to  give  some  further  account  of  tribes  and 
remnants  of  tribes  located  in  that  vicinity,  amongst  whom 
I  had  been  spending  some  time  with  my  pen  and  my  pencil; 
and  having  since  that  time  extended  my  rambles  over  much 
of  that  ground  again,  and  also  through  the  regions  of  the 
East  and  South  East,  from  whence  the  most  of  those  tribes 
have  emigrated;  I  consider  this  a  proper  time  to  say 
something  more  of  them,  and  their  customs  and  condition, 
before  I  go  farther. 

The  most  of  these,  as  I  have  said,  are  tribes  or  parts  of 
tribes  which  the  Government  has  recently,  by  means  of 
Treaty  stipulations,  removed  to  that  wild  and  distant 
(570) 


KORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


671 


country,  on  to  lands  whioh  havo  been  given  to  them  in  ez< 
change  for  their  valuable  possessions  within  the  States,  ten 
or  twelve  hundred  miles  to  the  East. 

Of  a  number  of  suoh  reduced  and  removed  tribes,  who 
have  been  located  West  of  the  Missouri,  and  North  of  St. 
Louis,  I  have  already  spoken  in  a  former  Letter,  and  shall 
yet  make  brief  mention  of  another,  which  has  been  con> 
ducted  to  the  same  region — and  then  direct  the  attention 
of  the  reader  to  those  which  are  settled  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Fort  Gibson,  who  are  the  Cherokees,  Creeks,  Choctaws, 
Chiokaaaws,  Seminoles,  and  Euohees.    ;  vt.iv(,M  t^  ,.i(ri,<.vi 

The  people  above  alluded  to  are  the   .<;<|ui.j  '*>>  7  jlLq  m, 

- :■ -     SHA-wA.NO's.    ';J'-'o:«or-n:..:i..; 

The  history  of  this  once  powerful  tribe  is  so  closely  and 
necessarily  connected  with  that  of  the  United  States,  and 
the  revolutionary  war,  that  it  is  generally  pretty  well 
understood.  This  tribe  formerly  inhabited  great  parts  of 
the  states  of  Pennsylvania,  New  Jersey,  (and  for  the  last 
sixty  years),  a  part  of  the  states  of  Ohio  and  Indiana,  to 
which  they  had  removed ;  and  now,  a  considerable  portion 
of  them,  occupy  a  tract  of  country  several  hundred  miles 
"West  of  the  Mississippi,  which  has  been  conveyed  to  them 
by  Government  in  exchange  for  their  lands  in  Ohio,  froLi 
which  it  is  expected  the  remainder  of  the  tribe  will  soon 
move.  It  has  been  said  that  this  tribe  came  formerly  from 
Florida,  but  I  do  not  believe  it.  The  mere  fact,  that  there 
is  found  in  East  Florida  a  river  by  the  name  of  Su-wa-nee^ 
which  bears  some  resemblance  to  Sha-wa-no,  seems,  as  far 
as  I  can  learn,  to  be  the  principal  evidence  that  has  been 
adduced  for  the  fact.  They  have  evidently  been  known, 
and  that  within  the  scope  of  our  authenticated  history,  on 
the  Atlantic  coast — on  the  Delaware  and  Chesapeake  bays. 
And  after  that,  have  fought  their  way  against  every  sort  of 
trespass  and  abuse — against  the  bayonet  and  disease, 
through  the  states  of  Pennsylvania,  Delaware  and  Ohio, 
Indiana,  Illinois  and  Missouri,  to  their  present  location 


672 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THX 


near  tho  Kon-zns  River,  at  least  ono  thousand  five  hundred 
miles  from  their  native  country. 

Thia  tribe  and  the  Dolawarcs,  of  whom  I  have  spoken, 
were  neighbors  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  and  alternately  allies 
and  enemies,  have  retrograded  and  retreated  together — 
Lave  fought  their  enemies  united,  and  fought  each  other, 
until  their  remnants  that  have  outlived  their  nation's 
calamities,  have  now  settled  as  neighbors  together  in  the 
Western  wilds ;  where,  it  is  probable,  tho  sweeping  hand 
of  death  will  soon  relieve  them  from  further  necessity  of 
warring  or  moving ;  and  the  Oovemment,  from  the  necessity 
or  policy  of  proposing  to  them  a  yet  more  distant  home. 
In  their  long  and  disastrous  pilgrimage,  both  of  these  tribes 
laid  claim  to,  and  alternately  occupied  the  beautiful  and 
renowned  valley  of  Wy-6-ming;  and  after  strewing  the 
Susquehanna's  lovely  banks  with  their  bones,  and  their 
tumuli,  they  both  yielded  at  last  to  tho  dire  necessity, 
which  follows  all  civilized  intercourse  with  natives,  and  fled 
to  the  Alleghany,  and  at  last  to  tho  banks  of  the  Ohio; 
where  necessity  soon  came  again,  and  again,  and  again, 
until  the  great  "  Ouardian"  of  all  "red  children"  placed 
them  where  they  now  are. 

There  are  of  this  tribe  remaining  about  one  thousand  two 
hundred;  some  few  of  whom  are  agriculturists,  and 
industrious  and  temperate,  and  religious  people ;  but  the 
greater  proportion  of  them  are  miserably  poor  and 
dependant,  having  scarcely  the  ambition  to  labor  or  to 
hunt,  and  a  passion  for  whisky-drinking,  that  sinks  them 
into  the  most  abject  poverty,  as  they  will  give  the  last 
thing  they  possess  for  a  drink  of  it. 

There  is  not  a  tribe  on  the  Continent  whose  history  is 
more  interesting  than  that  of  the  Shawanos,  nor  any  one 
that  has  produced  more  extraordinary  men. 

The  great  Tecumseh,  whose  name  and  history  I  can  but 
barely  allude  to  at  this  time,  was  the  chief  of  this  tribe,  and 
perhaps  the  most  extraordinary  Indian  of  his  age. 

The  present  chief  of  the  tribe  Lay-law-aJiekaw,  (he  who 


r 


e  hundred 

ve  spoken, 
lately  allies 
together — 
each  other, 
eir  nation's 
sther  in  the 
jeping  hand 
necessity  of 
the  necessity 
Li  slant  home. 
)f  these  tribes 
oeautiful  and 
strewing  the 
les,  and  their 
lire  necessity, 
itives,  and  fled 
,  of  the  Ohio; 
in,  and  again, 
iUren''  placed 

e  thousand  two 
culturists,  and 
leople ;  but  the 
Ijly  poor  and 
to  labor  or  to 
hat  sinks  them 
11  give  the  last 

whose  history  is 
los,  nor  any  one 

listory  I  can  but 
of  this  tribe,  and 
his  age. 
.sUhiw,  (he  who 


KORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


578 


goes  up  the  river),  is  n  very  age  1,  but  extraordinary  man, 
with  a  fine  and  intelligent  head,  and  his  ears  slit  and 
stretched  down  to  his  shoulders,  a  custom  highly  valued  in 
this  tribe ;  which  is  done  by  severing  the  rim  of  the  ear 
with  a  knife,  and  stretching  it  down  by  wearing  heavy 
weights  attached  to  it  at  times,  to  elongate  it  as  much  as 
possible,  making  a  large  orifice,  through  which,  on  parades, 
&c.,  they  often  pass  a  bunch  of  arrows  or  quills,  and  wear 
as  ornaments. 

In  this  instance  (which  was  not  an  unusual  one),  the  rims 
of  the  ears  were  so  extended  down,  that  they  touched  the 
shoulders,  making  a  ring  through  which  the  whole  hand 
could  easily  be  passsd.  The  daughter  of  this  old  chief, 
Ka-te-qua  (the  female  eagle),  was  an  agreeable-looking  girl, 
of  fifteen  years  of  age,  and  much  thought  of  by  the  tribe. 
Pahte-coo-saw  (the  straight  man),  a  warrior  of  this  tribe, 
has  distinguished  himself  by  his  exploits;  and  when  he  sat 
for  his  picture,  had  painted  his  face  in  a  very  curious  man- 
ner with  black  and  red  paint. 

Ten-aqua-ta-way  (the  open  door),  called  the  ^^  Shawnee 
Prophet,^*  is  perhaps  one  of  the  most  remarkable  men,  who 
has  flourished  on  these  frontiers  for  some  time  past.  This 
man  is  brother  of  the  famous  Tecumseh,  and  quite  equal  in 
his  medicines  or  mysteries,  to  what  his  brother  was  in  arms ; 
he  was  blind  in  his  left  eye.  With  these  mysteries  he 
made  his  way  through  most  of  the  North  Western  tribes, 
enlisting  warriors  wherever  he  went,  to  assist  Tecumseh  in 
effecting  his  great  scheme,  of  forming  a  confederacy  of  all 
the  Indians  on  the  frontier,  to  drive  back  the  whites  and 
defend  the  Indians'  rights ;  which  he  told  them  could  never 
in  any  other  way  be  protected.  His  plan  was  certainly  a 
correct  one,  if  not  a  very  great  one ;  and  his  brother,  the 
Prophet,  exercised  his  astonishing  influence  in  raising  men 
for  him  to  fight  his  battles,  and  carry  out  his  plans.  For 
this  purpose,  he  started  upon  an  embassy  to  the  various 
tribes  on  the  Upper  Missouri,  nearly  all  of  which  he  visited 
with  astonishing  success ;  exhibiting  hia  mystery  fire,  and 


674 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


using  hia  sacred  string  of  beans,  whioh  everj  yoixng  man 
who  was  willing  to  go  to  war,  was  to  touch ;  thereby  taking 
the  solemn  oath  to  start  when  called  upon,  and  not  to  turn 
back. 

In  this  most  surprising  manner,  this  ingenious  man  en- 
tered the  villages  of  most  of  his  inveterate  enemies,  and  of 
others  who  never  had  heard  of  the  name  of  his  tribe ;  and 
manoeuvred  in  so  successful  a  way,  as  to  make  his  medi- 
cines a  safe  passport  for  him  to  all  of  their  villages ;  and  also 
the  means  of  enlisting  in  the  different  tribes,  some  eight  or 
ten  thousand  warriors,  who  had  solemnly  sworn  to  return 
with  him  on  his  way  back ;  and  to  assist  in  the  wars  that 
Tecumseh  was  to  wage  against  the  whites  on  the  frontier. 
I  found,  on  my  visit  to  the  Sioux — to  the  Puncahs,  to  the 
Riccarees  and  the  Mandans,  that  he  had  been  there,  and 
even  to  the  Blackfeet ;  and  everywhere  told  them  of  the 
potency  of  his  mysteries,  and  assured  them,  that  if  they 
allowed  the  fire  to  go  out  in  their  wigwams,  it  would  prove 
fatal  to  them  in  every  case.  He  carried  with  him  into 
every  wigwam  that  he  visited,  the  image  of  a  dead  person 
of  the  size  of  life ;  which  was  made  ingeniously  of  some 
light  material,  and  ai'^ays  kept  concealed  under  bandages 
of  thin  white  muslin  cloths  and  not  to  be  opened ;  of  this 
he  made  great  mystery,  and  got  his  recruits  to  swear  by 
touching  a  sacred  string  of  white  beans,  which  he  had 
attached  to  its  neck  or  some  other  way  secreted  about  it. 
In  this  way,  by  his  extraordinary  cunning,  he  had  carried 
terror  into  the  country  as  far  as  he  went ;  and  had  actually 
enlisted  some  eight  or  ten  thousand  men,  who  were  sworn 
to  follow  him  home ;  and  in  a  few  days  would  have  been 
on  their  way  with  him,  had  not  a  couple  of  his  political 
enemies  in  his  own  tribe,  followed  on  his  track,  even  to 
those  remote  tribes,  and  defeated  his  plans,  by  pronouncing 
him  an  impostor ;  and  all  of  bis  forms  and  plans  an  imposi- 
tion upon  them,  which  they  would  be  fools  to  listen  to.  In 
this  manner,  this  great  recruiting  officer  was  defeated  in 
his  plans,  for  raising  an  army  of  men  to  fight  his  brother's 


KOBTH  AMERICA  M  INDIANS. 


676 


)nng  man 
)by  taking 
lOt  to  turn 

LB  man  en- 
lies,  and  of 
tribe;  and 
)  his  medi- 
jb;  and  also 
me  eigbt  or 
m  to  return 
ae  wars  tbat 
the  frontier, 
acalia,  to  tbe 
m  there,  and 
[  them  of  the 
^  that  if  thoy 
;  -would  prove 
vith  him  into 
a  dead  person 
ously  of  some 
nder  bandages 
pened ;  of  this 
ts  to  swear  by 
which  he  had 
jreted  about  it. 
he  had  carried 
ad  had  actually 
^ho  were  sworn 
ould  have  been 
of  hl«5  political 
track,  even  to 
hy  pronouncing 
plans  an  imposi- 
to  listen  to.    l^ 
^as  defeated  in 
ght  his  brother's 


battles;  ami  to  save  his  li^',  he  discharged  his  mediiines  ns 
suddenly  as  po^.  i])le,  and  secretly  travelled  his  wav  liome, 
over  those  vast  region??,  to  his  own  tribe,  where  tlie  death 
of  Teoumsch,  and  the  opposition  of  enemies,  killed  all  his 
splendid  prospects,  and  doomed  him  to  live  the  rest  of  his 
days  in  silence,  and  a  sort  of  disgrace ;  like  all  men  in 
Indian  communities  who  pretend  to  great  medmne,  in  any 
way,  and  fail ;  as  thej  all  think  such  failure  an  evidence  of 
the  displeasure  of  the  Great  Spirit,  who  always  judges 
right. 

This,  no  doubt,  has  been  a  very  shrewd  and  influential 
man,  but  circumstances  have  destroyed  him,  as  they  have 
many  other  great  men  before  him ;  and  he  now  lives  re- 
spected, but  silent  and  melancholy  in  his  tribe.  I  con- 
versed with  him  a  great  deal  about  his  brother  Tecumseh, 
of  whom  he  spoke  frankly,  and  seemingly  with  great  plea- 
sure ;  but  of  himself  and  his  own  great  schemes,  he  would 
say  nothing.  He  told  me  that  Tecumseh's  plans  were  to 
embody  all  the  Indian  tribes  in  a  grand  confederacy,  from 
the  province  of  Mexico,  to  the  Great  Lakes,  to  unite  their 
forces  in  an  army  that  would  be  able  to  meet  and  drive 
back  the  white  people,  who  were  continually  advancing  on 
the  Indian  tribes,  and  forcing  them  from  their  lands  to- 
wards the  Rocky  Mountains — that  Tecumseh  was  a  great 
general,  and  that  nothing  but  his  premature  death  defeated 
his  grand  plan.     ^  .v  .      ;  ; 

The  Shawanos,  like  most  of  the  other  :q;  nants  of  tribes, 
in  whose  countries  the  game  has  been  destroyed,  and  by 
the  use  of  whisky,  have  been  reduced  to  poverty  and  abso- 
lute want,  have  become,  to  a  certain  degree,  agriculturists ; 
raising  corn  and  beans,  potatoes,  hogs,  horses,  &c.,  so  as  to 
be  enabled,  if  they  could  possess  anywhere  on  earth,  a 
country  which  they  could  have  a  certainty  of  holding  in 
perpetuity,  as  their  own,  to  plant  and  raise  their  own  crops 
and  necessaries  of  life  from  the  ground. 

The  Government  have  effected  with  these  people,  as  with 
most  of  the  other  dispersed  tribes,  an  arrangement  by  which 


576 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


they  are  to  remove  West  of  the  Mississippi,  to  lands  as- 
signed them ;  on  which  they  are  solemnly  promised  a  home 
for  ever ;  the  uncertain  definition  of  which  important  word, 
time  and  circumstance?  alone  will  determine. 

Besides  the  personages  whom  I  have  above-mentioned,  I 
painted  the  portraits  of  several  others  of  note  in  the  tribe ; 
and  amongst  them  Lay-ho-ah-pe-ai-shee-kaxo  (the  grass-bush 
and  blossom),  whom  I  introduce  in  this  place,  rather  from 
the  very  handy  and  poetical  name,  than  from  any  great 
personal  distinction  known  to  have  been  acquired  by  him. 

Thb  CHER-0-KEES, 

Living  in  the  vicinity  of,  and  about  Fort  Gibson  on  the 
Arkansas,  and  seven  hundred  miles  west  of  the  Mississippi 
river,  are  the  once  very  numerous  and  powerful  tribe  who 
inhabited  a  considerable  part  of  the  state  of  Georgia,  and 
under  a  Treaty  made  with  the  United  States  Government, 
have  been  removed  to  those  regions,  where  they  are  settled 
on  a  fine  tract  of  country ;  and  having  advanced  somewhat 
in  the  arts  and  agriculture  before  they  started,  are  now 
found  to  be  mostly  living  well,  cultivating  their  fields  of 
corn  and  other  crops,  which  they  raise  with  gre.it  success. 

Under  a  serious  difficulty  existing  between  these  people 
(whom  their  former  solemn  Treaties  with  the  United  States 
Government,  were  acknowledged  a  free  and  independent 
nation  with  powers  to  make  and  enforce  their  own  laws), 
and  the  state  of  Georgia,  v/hich  could  not  admit  such  a 
Government  within  her  sovereignty,  it  was  thought  most 
expedient  by  the  Government  of  the  United  States,  to  pro- 
pose to  them,  for  the  fourth  or  fifth  time,  to  enter  into 
Treaty  stipulations  again  to  move;  and  by  so  doing  to 
settle  the  difficult  question  with  the  state  of  Georgia,  and 
at  the  same  time,  to  place  them  in  peaceable  possession  of  a 
large  tract  of  fine  country,  where  they  would  for  ever  be 
free  from  the  continual  trespasses  and  abuses  which  it  was 
supposed  they  would  be  subjected  to,  if  they  were  to  re- 
main in  the  state  of  Georgia,  under  the  present  difficulties 


lands  as- 
led  a  home 
iant  word, 

.entioued,  I 

a  tQe  tribe ; 

,  grass-busli  |l 

rather  from  |i 

a  any  great  r 

Lred  by  him.  j 

ibson  on  the 
ic  Mississippi 
■fal  tribe  who 
'  Georgia,  and 
,  Government, 
tiey  are  settled 
iced  somewhat 
^rted,  are  now 
their  fields  of 
gref>.t  success, 
jn  these  people 
5  United  States 
id  independent 
[heir  own  laws), 
,t  admit  such  a 
thought  most 
States,  to  pro- 
e,  to  enter  into 
by  so  doing  to 
,  of  Georgia,  and 
c  possession  of  a 
,uld  for  ever  be 
,ges  which  it  was 
they  were  to  re- 
present difficulties 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


577 


anr'    he  high  excited  feelings  which  were  then  existing  in 
the  minds  of  many  people  along  their  borders. 

John  Boss,  a  civilized  and  highly  educated  and  acoom 
plished  gentleman,  who  is  the  head-chief  of  the  tribe,  and 
several  of  his  leading  subordinate  chiefs,  have  sternly  and 
steadily  rejected  the  proposition  of  such  a  Treaty;  and  are 
yet,  with  a  great  majority  of  the  nation  remaining  on  their 
own  ground  in  the  state  ol  Georgia,  although  some  six  or 
seven  thousand  of  the  tribe  have  several  years  since  re- 
moved to  the  Arkansas,  under  the  guidance  and  control  of 
an  aged  and  dignified  chief  by  the  name  of  Jo-lee. 

This  man,  like  most  of  the  chiefs,  as  well  as  a  very  great 
proportion  of  the  Cherokee  population,  has  a  mixture  of 
white  and  red  blood  in  his  veins,  of  which,  in  this  instance, 
the  first  seems  decidedly  to  predominate.  Another  chief, 
and  second  to  this,  amongst  this  portion  of  the  Cherokees, 
by  the  name  of  Teh-ke-neh-kee  (the  black  coat),  I  have  also 
painted  and  placed  in  my  Collection,  as  well  as  a  very 
interesting  specimen  of  the  Cherokee  women. 

I  have  travelled  pretty  generally  through  the  several 
difierent  locations  of  this  interesting  tribe,  both  in  the 
Western  and  Eastern  divisions,  and  have  found  them,  as 
well  as  the  Choctaws  and  Creeks,  their  neighbors,  very 
far  advanced  in  the  arts ;  affording  to  the  world  the  most 
satisfactory  evidences  that  are  to  be  found  in  America,  of 
the  fact,  that  the  Indian  was  not  made  to  shun  and  evade 
good  example,  and  necessarily  to  live  and  die  a  brute,  as 
many  speculating  men  would  needs  record  them  and  treat 
them,  until  they  are  robbed  and  trampled  into  the  dust; 
that  no  living  evidences  might  give  the  lie  to  their  theories, 
or  di-aw  the  cloak  from  their  cruel  and  horrible  iniquities. 

As  I  have  repeatedly  said  to  my  readers,  in  the  course  ot 
my  former  epistles,  that  the  greater  part  of  my  time  would 
be  devoted  to  the  condition  and  customs  of  the  tribes  that 
might  be  found  in  their  primitive  state,  they  will  feel  dis- 
posed to  pardon  me  for  barely  introducing  the  Cherokees, 
and  several  others  of  these  very 

37 


interesting  tribes,  and 


ill;' 


m 

h 


m 


H 


m^ 


578 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


leaving  thorn  and  their  customs  and  histories  (which  are  of 
themselves  enough  for  volumes),  to  the  reader,  who  is,  per- 
haps, nearly  as  familiar  as  I  am  myself,  with  the  full  and 
fair  accounts  of  these  people,  who  have  had  their  historians 
and  biographers. 

The  history  of  the  Cherokees  and  other  numerous  rem- 
nants of  tribes,  who  are  the  ex-habitants  of  the  finest  and 
most  valued  portions  of  the  United  States,  is  a  subject  of 
great  interest  and  importance,  and  has  already  been  woven 
into  the  most  valued  histories  of  the  country,  as  well  as 
forming  material  parts  of  the  archives  of  the  Government, 
which  is  my  excuse  for  barely  introducing  the  reader  to 
them,  and  beckoning  him  off  again  to  the  native  and  un- 
trodden wilds,  to  teach  him  something  new  and  unrecorded. 
Yet  I  leave  the  subject,  as  I  left  the  people  (to  whom  I  be- 
came attached,  for  their  kindness  and  friendship),  with  a 
heavy  heart,  wishing  them  success  and  the  blessing  of  the 
Great  Spirit,  who  alone  can  avert  the  doom  that  would 
almost  seem  to  be  fixed  for  their  unfortunate  race. 

The  Cherokees  amount  in  all  to  about  twenty-two  thou- 
sand, sixteen  thousand  of  whom  are  yet  living  in  Georgia, 
under  the  Government  of  their  chief,  John  Boss,  whose 
name  I  have  before  mentioned;  with  this  excellent  man, 
who  has  been  for  many  years  devotedly  opposed  to  the 
Treaty  stipulations  for  moving  from  their  country,  I  have 
been  familiarly  acquainted ;  and,  notwithstanding  the  bitter 
invective  and  animadversions  that  have  been  by  his  politi- 
cal enemies  heaped  upon  him,  I  feel  authorized,  and  bound, 
to  testify  to  the  unassuming  and  gentlemanly  urbanity  of 
his  manners,  as  well  as  to  the  rigid  temperance  of  his 
habits,  and  the  purity  of  his  language,  in  which  I  never 
knew  him  to  transgress  for  a  moment,  in  public  or  private 
interviews. 

At  this  time,  the  mo3t  strenuous  endeavors  are  making 
on  the  part  of  the  Government  and  the  state  of  Georgia, 
for  the  completion  of  an  arrangement  for  the  removal  of 
the  whole  of  this  tribe,  as  well  as  of  the  Choctaws  and 


MM 


icli  are  of 
tio  is,  per- 
B  full  and 
historians 

erous  rem- 
,  finest  and 
I  subject  of 
been  woven 

as  well  as 
rovernment, 
le  reader  to 
,tive  and  un- 

nnrecorded. 
I  wliom  I  be- 
sliip),  with  a 
Lessing  of  tbo 
I  tbat  would 

race. 

nty-two  tbou- 
ig  in  Georgia, 
Boss,  wbose 
ixcellent  man, 
pposed  to  tne 
ountry,  I  tave 
ding  the  bitter 
by  his  politi- 
jd,  and  bound, 
nly  urbanity  of 
perance  of  bis 
which  I  Tiever 
ublic  or  private 

ors  are  making 
,tate  of  Georgia, 
the  removal  of 
Choctaws  and 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


579 


Seminoles ;  and  I  have  not  a  doubt  of  their  final  success, 
which  seems,  from  all  former  experience,  to  attend  every 
project  of  the  kind  made  by  the  Government  to  their  red 
children.  * 

It  is  not  for  me  to  decide,  nor  in  this  place  to  reason,  as 
to  the  justice  or  injustice  of  the  treatment  of  these  people 
at  the  hands  of  the  Government  or  individuals ;  or  of  the 
wisdom  of  the  policy  which  is  to  place  them  in  a  new, 
though  vast  and  fertile  country,  one  thousand  miles  from 
the  land  of  their  birth,  in  the  doubtful  dilemma  whether  to 
break  the  natural  turf  with  their  rusting  ploughshares,  or 
string  their  bows,  and  dash  over  the  boundless  prairies, 
beckoned  on  by  the  alluring  dictates  of  their  nature, 
seeking  laurels  among  the  ranks  of  their  new  enemies,  and 
subsistance  amongst  the  herds  of  buffaloes. 

Besides  the  Cherokees  in  Georgia,  and  those  that  I  have 
spoken  of  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Fort  Gibson,  there 
is  another  band  or  family  of  the  same  tribe,  of  several 
hundreds,  living  on  the  banks  of  the  Canadian  river,  an 
hundred  or  more  miles  South  "West  of  Fort  Gibson,  under 
tiie  Government  of  a  distinguished  chief  by  the  name  of 
Tuch-ee,  familiarly  called  by  the  white  people,  ^^  Dutch." 
This  is  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  men  that  lives  on 
the  frontiers  at  the  present  day,  both  for  his  remarkable 
history,  and  for  his  fine  and  manly  figure,  and  character 
of  face. 

This  man  was  in  the  employment  of  the  Government  as 

*  Since  writing  the  above,  the  Government  have  snoceeded  in  remov- 
ing the  remainder  of  the  Cherokees  beyond  the  Mississippi,  where  they 
have  taken  up  their  residence  along  side  of  their  old  friends,  who  emi- 
grated several  years  since  nnder  Jo-lee,  as  I  have  before  mentioned. 
In  the  few  years  past,  the  Government  has  also  succeeded  in  stipulating 
with,  and  removing  West  of  the  Mississippi,  nearly  every  remnant  of 
tribes  spoken  of  in  this  and  the  two  last  Letters,  so  that  there  are  at 
this  time  but  a  few  hundreds  of  the  red  men  East  of  the  Mississippi ; 
and  it  is  probable,  that  a  few  months  more  will  effect  the  removal  of  the 
remainder  of  them. 


^li 


W;Wi 


i' ' 


II 


580 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


a  guide  and  hunter  for  the  regiment  of  dragoons,  on  their 
expedition  to  the  Carnanchees,  where  I  had  him  for  a 
constant  companion  for  several  months,  and  opportunities 
in  abundance,  for  studying  his  true  character,  and  of  wit- 
nessing his  wonderful  exploits  in  the  different  varieties  of 
the  chase.  The  history  of  this  man's  life  has  been 
very  curious  and  surprising ;  and  I  oincerely  hope  that 
some  one,  with  more  leisure  and  more  talent  than  myself, 
will  take  it  up,  and  do  it  justice.  I  promise  that  the  life 
of  this  man  furnishes  the  best  materials  for  a  popular  tale, 
that  are  now  to  be  procured  on  the  Western  frontier. 

He  is  familiarly  known,  and  much  of  his  life,  to  all  the 
officers  who  have  been  stationed  at  Fort  Gibson,  or  at  any 
of  the  posts  in  that  region  of  the  country. 

Some  twenty  years  or  more  since,  becoming  fatigued 
and  incensed  with  civilized  encroachments,  that  were  con- 
tinually making  on  the  borders  of  the  Cherokee  country  in 
Georgia,  where  he  then  resided,  and  probably,  foreseeing  the 
disastrous  results  they  were  to  lead  to,  he  beat  up  for  vol- 
unteers to  emigrate  to  the  West,  where  he  had  designed  to 
go,  and  colonize  in  a  wild  country  beyond  the  reach  and 
con  lamination  of  civilized  innovations;  and  succeeded  in 
getting  several  hundred  men,  women,  and  children,  whom 
he  led  over  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  and  settled  upon 
the  head  waters  of  the  White  River,  where  they  lived  until 
the  appearance  of  white  faces,  which  began  to  peep  through 
the  forests  at  them,  when  they  made  another  move  of  six 
hundred  miles  to  the  banks  of  the  Canadian,  where  they 
now  reside,  and  where,  by  the  system  of  desperate  warfare, 
which  he  has  carried  on  against  the  O.sages  and  the  Ca- 
rnanchees, he  has  successfully  cleared  away  from  ii  large 
tract  of  line  country,  all  the  enemies  that  could  contend  for 
it,  and  now  holds  it,  with  his  little  band  of  myrmidons,  as 
their  own  undisputed  soil,  where  they  are  living  comfortably 
by  raising  from  the  soil  fine  crops  of  corn  and  potatoes, 
and  other  necessaries  of  life ;  whilst  they  indulge  whenever 
they  please,  in  the  pleasures  of  the  chase  amongst  the  herds 


,  on  tWir 
im  for  a 

lOTtunlties  l| 

id  of  wit-  1, 

rarietiea  of  11 

has  been  | 

hope  t\iat  j 

aan  myself,  ; 

hat  the  life  ' 

lopular  tale,  | 

rontier.  !i 

fe,  to  all  tlie  i 

)n,  or  at  any 

ling  fatigued 
aat  were  con- 
ee  country  in 
foreseeing  tlie 
,at  up  for  vol- 
ad  designed  to 
the  reacli  and 
succeeded  in 
[hildren,  wbom 
d  settled  upon 
Ihey  lived  until 
fo  peep  through 
^er  move  of  six 
,n,  where  tliey 
operate  warfare, 
;e3  and  the  Ca- 
[y  from  a  large 
,uld  contend  for 
myrmidons,  as 
•ing  comfortably 
;n  and  potatoes, 
idulge  whenever 
,ongst  the  herds 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


581 


of  buffaloes,  or  in  the  natural  propensity  for  ornamenting 
their  dresses  and  their  war-clubs  with  the  scalp-lock  of 
their  enemies.  -  ■ 

The  creeks  (or  MUS-KO-GEES), 

Of  twenty  thousand  in  numbers,  have,  until  quite  recently, 
occupied  an  immense  tract  of  country  in  the  states  of 
Mississippi  and  Alabama;  but  by  a  similar  arrangement 
(and  for  a  similar  purpose)  with  the  Government,  have 
exchanged  their  possessions  there  for  a  country,  adjoining 
to  the  Cherokees,  on  the  South  side  of  the  Arkansas,  to 
which  they  have  already  all  removed,  and  on  which,  like 
the  Cherokees,  they  are  laying  out  fine  farms,  and  building 
good  houses,  in  which  they  live ;  in  many  instances,  sur- 
rounded by  immense  fields  of  corn  and  wheat.  There  is 
scarcely  a  finer  country  on  earth  than  that  now  owned  by 
the  Greeks;  and  in  North  America,  certainly  no  Indian  tribe 
more  advanced  in  the  arts  and  agriculture  than  they  are. 
It  is  no  uncommon  thing  to  see  a  Creek  with  twenty  or 
thirty  slaves  at  work  on  his  plantation,  having  brought 
them  from  a  slave-holding  country,  from  which,  in  their 
long  journey,  and  exposure  to  white  man's  ingenuity,  I 
venture  to  say,  that  most  of  them  got  rid  of  one-half  of 
them,  whilst  on  their  long  and  disastrous  crusade. 

.       Thb  CHOCTAWS. 

Of  fifteen  thousand,  are  another  tribe,  removed  from  the 
Northern  parts  of  Alabama,  aud  Mississippi,  within  the  few 
years  past,  and  now  occupying  a  large .  and  rich  tract  of 
country.  South  of  the  Arkansas  and  the  Canadian  rivers, 
adjoining  to  the  country  of  the  Creeks  and  Cherokees, 
equally  civilized,  and  living  much  in  the  same  manner. 

These  people  seem,  even  in  their  troubles,  to  be  happy ; 
and  have,  like  all  the  other  remnants  of  tribes,  preserved 
with  great  tenacity  their  different  games,  which  it  would 
seem  they  are  everlastingly  practicing  for  want  of  other 
occupations  or  amusements  in  life.    Whilst  I  was  staying 


i-i- 


'fiti 


:i'V 


m 


n 


if 

I 


■A'-'' J 


f'l 


...    IH 


lit'-;  '\:'  ■■  .  I  '} 


582 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


at  the  Choctaw  agency  in  the  midst  of  their  nation,  it. 
seemed  to  be  a  sort  of  season  of  amusements,  a  kind  of 
holiday;  when  the  whole  tribe  almost,  were  assembled 
around  the  establishment,  and  from  day  to  day  we  were 
entertained  with  some  games  or  feats  that  were  exceedingly 
amusing :  hoise-racing,  dancing,  wrestling,  foot-racing,  and 
ball-playmg,  were  amongst  the  most  exciting;  and  of 
all  the  catalogue,  the  most  beautiful,  was  decidedly  that  of 
ball-playing.  This  wonderful  game,  which  is  the  favorite 
one  amongst  all  the  tribes,  and  with  these  Southern  tribes 
played  exactly  the  same,  can  never  be  appreciated  by  those 
who  are  not  happy  enough  to  see  it. 

It  is  no  uncommon  occurrence  for  six  or  eight  hundred 
or  a  thousand  of  these  young  men,  to  engage  in  a  game  of 
ball,  with  five  or  six  times  that  number  of  spectators,  of 
men,  women,  and  children,  surrounding  the  ground,  and 
looking  on.  And  I  pronounce  such  a  scene,  with  its  hun- 
dreds of  Nature's  most  beautiful  models  denuded,  and 
painted  of  variou  i  colors,  running  and  leaping  into  the  air, 
in  all  the  most  extravagant  and  varied  forms,  in  the  des- 
perate struggles  for  the  ball,  a  school  for  the  painter  or 
sculptor,  equal  to  any  of  those  that  ever  inspired  the  hand 
of  the  artist  in  the  Olympian  games  or  the  Roman  forum. 

I  have  made  it  a  uniform  rule,  whilst  in  the  Indian 
country,  to  attend  every  ball-play  I  could  hear  of,  if  I  could 
do  it  by  riding  a  distance  of  twenty  or  thirty  miles ;  and 
my  usual  custom  has  been  on  such  occasions,  to  straddle  the 
back  of  my  horse,  and  look  on  to  the  best  advantage.  In 
this  way  I  have  sat,  and  oftentimes  reclined,  and  almost 
dropped  from  my  horse's  back,  with  irresistible  laughter  at 
the  succession  of  droll  tricks,  and  kicks  and  scuffles  which 
ensue,  in  the  almost  superhuman  struggles  for  the  ball. 
These  plays  generally  commence  at  nine  o'clock,  or  near 
it,  in  the  morning ;  and  I  have  mr-\;  L^an  once  balanced 
myself  on  my  pony,  from  that  time  till  near  sundown, 
without  more  than  one  minute  of  intermission  at  a  time, 
before  the  game  has  been  decided. 


\ation,  it. 
I  kind  of 
assembled 
•we  were 
ceedingly 
ftcing,  and 
;    and  of 
ily  that  of 
tie  favorite 
bern  tribes 
jd  by  tbose 

rbt  hundred 
Q  a  game  of 
ipectators,  of 
ground,  and 
vritb  its  bun- 
enuded,    and 
g  into  tbe  air, 
•s,  in  tbe  des- 
he  painter  or 
ired  tbe  band 
Roman  forum, 
in  tbe  Indian 
ur  of,  if  1  could 

rty  mUes;  and 
to  straddle  tbe 

advantage.    In 
ed,  and  almost 
Lble  laugbter  at 
d  scufQes  wbicb 
as  for  tbe  ball, 
o'clock,  or  near 
Q  once  balanced 
near  sundown, 
tssion  at  a  time, 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


683 


It  is  impossible  for  pen  and  ink  alone,  or  brushes,  or  even 
with  their  combined  efforts,  to  give  more  than  a  caricature  of 
such  a  scene ;  but  such  as  I  have  been  able  to  do,  I  have 
put  upon  the  canvass,  and  I  will  convey  as  correct  an 
account  as  I  can,  and  leave  the  reader  to  imagine  the  rest ; 
or  look  to  other  hooka  for  what  I  may  have  omitted. 

While  at  the  Choctaw  agency,  it  was  announced  that  there 
was  to  be  a  great  play  on  a  certain  day,  within  a  few  miles, 
on  which  occasion  I  attended,  and  made  three  sketches;  and 
also  the  following  entry  in  my  note-book,  which  I  literally 
copy  out 

"Monday  afternoon,  at  three  o'clock,  I  rode  out  with 
Leutenants  S.  and  M.  to  a  very  pretty  prairie,  about  six 
miles  distant,  to  the  ball-play-ground  of  the  Choctaws, 
where  we  found  several  thousand  Indians  encamped.  There 
were  two  points  of  timber  about  half  a  mile  apart,  in  which 
the  two  parties  for  the  play,  with  their  respective  families 
and  friends,  were  encamped ;  and  lying  between  them,  the 
prairie  on  which  the  game  was  to  be  played.  My  com- 
panions and  myself,  although  we  had  been  apprized,  that 
to  see  the  whole  of  a  ball-play,  we  mu3t  remain  on  the 
ground  all  the  night  previous,  had  brought  nothing  to  sleep 
upon,  resolving  to  keep  our  eyes  open,  and  see  what  trans- 
pired during  the  night.  During  the  afternoon,  we  loitered 
about  amongst  the  different  tents  and  shantees  of  the  two 
encampments,  and  afterwards,  at  sundown,  witnessed  the 
ceremony  of  measuriir^  out  the  ground,  and  erecting  the 
"  byes  "  or  goals  which  were  to  guide  the  play.  Each  party 
had  their  goal  made  with  two  upright  posts,  about  twenty- 
five  feet  high  and  six  feet  apart,  set  firm  in  the  ground,  with 
a  pole  across  at  the  top.  These  goals  were  about  forty  or 
fifty  rods  apart ;  and  at  a  point  just  half  way  between,  was 
another  small  stake,  driven  down,  where  the  ball  was  to  be 
thrown  up  at  the  firing  of  a  gun,  to  be  struggled  for  by  the 
players.  All  this  preparation  was  made  by  some  old  men, 
who  were  it  seems  selected  to  be  the  judges  of  the  play,  who 
drew  a  line  from  one  bye  to  the  other ;  to  which  directly 


¥ 


*■ 

Mr 


Am 


V 

ill 

i 

It 


584 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


came  from  the  woods,  on  both  sides,  a  great  concourse  of 
women  and  old  men,  boys  and  girls,  and  dogs  and  horses, 
where  bets  were  to  be  made  on  the  play.  The  betting  was 
all  done  across  this  line,  and  seemed  to  be  chiefly  left  to 
the  women  who  seemed  to  have  martialled  out  a  little  of 
everything  that  their  houses  and  their  fields  possessed. 
Goods  and  chattels — ^knives — dresses — blankets — pots  and 
kettles— dogs  and  horses  and  guns ;  and  all  were  placed  in 
the  possession  of  stake-holders,  who  sat  by  them,  and  watched 
them  on  the  ground  all  night  preparatory  to  the  play. 

The  sticks  with  which  this  tribe  play,  are  bent  into  an 
oblong  hoop  at  the  end,  with  a  sort  of  slight  web  of  small 
thongs  tied  across,  to  prevent  the  ball  from  passing  through. 
The  players  hold  one  in  each  hand,  and  by  leaping  into  the 
air  they  catch  the  ball  between  the  two  nettings  and  throw 
it,  without  being  allowed  to  strike  it,  or  catch  it  in  their 
hands. 

In  every  ball-play  of  these  people,  it  is  a  rule  of  the 
play,  that  no  man  shall  wear  moccasins  on  his  feet,  or  any 
other  dress  than  his  breech-cloth  around  his  waist,  with  a 
beautiful  bead  belt,  and  a  "  tail,"  made  of  white  horse-hair 
or  quills,  and  a  "  mane'^  on  the  neck,  of  horse-hair,  dyed  of 
various  colors. 

This  game  had  been  arranged  and  "  made  up,"  three  or 
four  months  before  the  parties  met  to  play  it,  and  in  the 
following  manner: — The  two  champions  who  led  the 
two  parties,  and  had  the  alternate  choosing  of  the  players 
through  the  whole  tribe,  sent  runners,  with  the  ball-sticks 
most  fantastically  ornamented  with  ribbons  and  red  paint 
to  be  touched  by  each  one  of  the  chosen  players;  who 
thereby  agreed  to  be  on  the  spot  at  the  appointed  time  and 
ready  for  the  play.  The  ground  having  been  all  prepared, 
and  preliminaries  of  the  game  all  settled,  and  the  bettings 
all  made,  and  goods  all  "staked"  night  came  on  without 
the  appearance  of  any  players  on  the  ground.  But  soon 
after  dark,  a  procession  of  lighted  flambeaux  was  seen 
coming  from  each    encampment,   to  the    ground,  where 


KORTH  AMERICAN  INDIAKB. 


685 


tbe  players  assembled  around  their  respective  byes;  and 
at  the  boat  of  the  drums  and  chaunts  of  the  women, 
each  party  of  players  commenced  the  "ball-play  dance." 
Each  party  danced  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour  around  their 
respective  byes,  in  their  ball-play  dress ;  rattling  their  ball- 
sticks  together  in  the  most  violent  manner,  and  all  singing 
as  loud  as  they  could  raise  their  voices ;  whilst  the  women 
of  each  party,  who  had  their  goods  at  stake,  formed  into  two 
rows  on  the  line  between  the  two  parties  of  players,  and 
danced  also  in  an  uniform  step,  and  all  their  voices  joined 
in  chaunts  to  the  Great  Spirit ;  in  which  they  were  soliciting 
his  favor  in  deciding  the  game  to  their  advantage;  and 
also  encouraging  the  players  to  exert  every  power  they  pos- 
sessed, in  the  struggle  that  was  to  ensue.  In  the  mean  time, 
four  old  medicine-men,  who  were  to  have  the  starting  of  the 
ball,  and  who  were  to  be  judges  of  the  play,  were  seated  at 
the  point  where  the  ball  was  to  bo  started;  and  busily 
smoking  to  the  Great  Spirit  for  their  success  in  judging 
rightly  and  impartially,  between  the  parties  in  so  important 
an  afEair. 

This  dance  was  one  of  the  most  picturesque  scenes  imag- 
inable, and  was  repeated  at  intervals  of  every  half  hour 
during  the  night,  and  exactly  in  the  same  manner ;  so  that 
the  players  were  certainly  awake  all  the  night,  and  arranged 
in  their  appropriate  dress,  prepared  for  the  play,  which  was 
to  commence  at  nine  o'clock  the  next  morning.  In  the 
morning,  at  .the  hour,  the  two  parties  and  all  their  friends, 
were  drawn  out  and  over  the  ground;  when  at  length 
the  game  commenced,  by  the  judges  throwing  up  the  ball 
at  the  firing  of  a  gun ;  when  an  instant  struggle  ensued 
between  the  players,  who  were  some  six  or  seven  hundred 
in  numbers,  and  were  mutually  endeavoring  to  catch  the 
ball  in  their  sticks,  and  throw  it  home  and  between  their 
respective  stakes;  which,  whenever  successfully  done,  counts 
one  for  game.  In  this  game  every  player  was  dressed  alike, 
that  is,  divested  of  all  dress,  except  the  girdle  and  the  tail, 
which  I  have  before  described;   and  in  these  desperate 


.  -it  >->  i'ii 


686 


LETIEKS  AND  NOTES  ON  TUK 


Struggles  for  the  ball,  when  it  ia  up,  (where  hundreds  are 
running  together  and  leaping,  actually  over  each  other's 
heads,  and  darting  between  their  adversaries'  legs,  tripping 
and  throwing,  and  foiling  each  other  in  every  possible 
manner,  and  every  voice  raised  to  the  highest  key,  in  shrill 
yelps  and  barks)  1  there  are  rapid  successions  of  feats,  and 
of  incidents,  that  astonish  and  amuse  far  beyond  the  concep* 
tion  of  any  one  who  has  not  had  the  singular  good  luck  to 
witness  them.  In  these  struggles,  every  mode  is  used  that 
can  be  devised,  to  oppose  the  progress  of  the  foremost,  who 
is  likely  to  get  the  ball ;  and  these  obstructions  often  meet 
desperate  individual  resistance,  which  terminates  in  violent 
scuffle,  and  sometimes  in  fisticuf& ;  when  their  sticks  are 
dropped,  and  the  parties  are  unmolested,  whilst  they  are  set- 
tling it  between  themselves;  unless  it  be  a  general  stampedo, 
to  which  they  are  subject  who  are  down,  if  the  ball  happens 
to  pass  in  their  direction.  Every  weapon,  by  a  rule  of  all 
ball-plays  is  laid  by  in  their  respective  encampments,  and 
no  man  allowed  to  go  for  one ;  so  that  the  sudden  broils  that 
take  place  on  the  ground,  sro  presumed  to  be  as  suddenly 
settled  without  any  probability  of  much  personal  injury ; 
and  no  one  is  allowed  to  interfere  in  any  way  with  the  con- 
tentious individuals. 

There  are  times,  when  the  ball  gets  to  the  ground,  and 
such  a  confused  mass  rushing  together  around  it,  and  knock- 
ing their  sticks  togethef\  without  the  possibility  of  any  one 
getting  or  seeing  it,  for  the  dust  that  they  raise,  that  the 
spectator  loses  his  strength,  and  everything  else  but  hia 
senses ;  when  the  condensed  mass  of  ball-sticks,  and  shins, 
and  bloody  noses,  is  carried  around  the  different  parts  of  the 
ground,  for  a  quarter  of  an  hour  at  a  time,  without  any  one 
of  the  mass  being  able  to  see  the  ball ;  and  which  they  are 
often  thus  scuffling  for,  several  minutes  after  it  has  been 
thrown  off,  and  played  over  another  part  of  the  ground. 

For  each  time  that  the  ball  was  passed  between  the  stakes 
of  either  party,  one  was  counted  for  their  game,  and  a  halt 
of  about  one  minute ;  when  it  was  again  started  by  the 


■mt 


KORTn  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 

judges  of  the  play,  and  a  similar  struggle  ensued ;  an  so  on 
until  the  successful  party  arrived  to  one  hundred,  which 
was  the  limit  of  the  game,  and  accomplished  vA  an  hour's 
sun,  when  they  took  the  stakes ;  and  then  by  a  previous 
agreement,  produced  a  number  of  jugs  of  whisky,  which  gave 
all  a  wholesome  drink,  and  sent  them  all  off  merry  and  in 
good  humor  but  not  drunk. 

After  this  exciting  day,  the  concourse  was  assembled  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  agency  house,   where  we  had  a  great 
variety  of  dances  and  other  amusements ;  the  most  of  which 
I  have  described  on  former  occasions.    One,  however  was 
new  to  me,  and  I  must  say  a  few  words  of  it ;  this  was  the 
Eagle  Dance,  a  very  pretty  scene,  which  is  got  up  by  their 
young  men,  in  honor  of  that  bird,  for  which  they  seem  to 
have  a  religious  regard.    This  picturesque  dance  was  given 
by  twelve  or  sixteen  men,  whose  bodies  were  chiefly  naked 
and  painted  white,  with  white  clay,  and  each  one  holding 
in  his  hand  the  tail  of  the  eagle,  while  his  head  was  also 
decorated  with  an  eagle's  quill.    Spears  were  stuck  in  the 
ground,  around  which  the  dance  was  performed  by  four  men 
at  a  time,  who  had,  simultaneously,  at  the  beat  of  the  drum, 
jumped  up  from  the  ground  where  they  had  all  sat  in  rows 
of  four,  one  row  immediately  behind  the  other,  and  ready 
to  take  the  place  of  the  first  four  when  they  left  the  ground 
fatigued,  which  they  did  by  hopping  or  jumping  around 
behind  the  rest,  and  taking  their  seats,  ready  to  come  up 
again  in  their  turn,  after  each  of  the  other  sets,  had  been 
through  the  same  forms. 

In  this  dance,  the  steps  or  rather  jumps,  were  different 
from  anything  I  had  ever  witnessed  before,  as  the  dancers 
were  squat  down,  with  their  bodies  almost  to  the  ground,  in 
a  severe  and  most  difficult  posture. 

I  have  already,  in  a  former  Letter,  while  speaking  of  the 
ancient  custom  of  flattening  the  head,  given  a  curious  tra- 
dition of  this  interesting  tribe,  accounting  for  their  having 
come  from  the  West,  and  I  here  insert  another  or  two, 
which  I  had,  as  well  as  the  former  one,  fr  -.a  the  lips  of 


'^^% 


688 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


Peter  Piiicblin,  a  very  intelligent  and  influential  man  in 
the  tribe. 

The  Deluge.  "  Our  people  have  always  had  a  tradition 
of  the  Deluge,  which  happened  in  thia  way ; — there  waa 
total  darkness  for  a  great  time  over  the  whole  of  the  earth  ; 
the  Choctaw  doctors  or  mystery-men  looked  out  for  day- 
light for  a  long  time,  until  at  last  they  despaired  of  ever 
seeing  it,  and  the  whole  nation  were  very  unhappy.  At 
last  a  light  was  discovered  in  the  North,  and  there  waa 
great  rejoicing,  until  it  was  found  to  be  great  mountains  of 
water  rolling  on,  which  destroyed  them  all,  except  a  few 
families  who  had  expected  it  and  built  a  great  rail,  on 
which  they  were  saved. 

Future  State.  *•  Our  people  all  believe  that  the  spirit 
lives  in  a  future  state — that  it  has  a  great  distance  to  travel 
after  death  towards  the  West — that  it  has  to  cross  a  dread 
ful  deep  and  rapid  stream,  which  is  hemmed  in  on  both 
sides  by  high  and  rugged  hills — over  this  stream  from  hill 
to  hill,  there  lies  a  long  and  slippery  pine-log,  with  the 
bark  peeled  off,  over  which  the  dead  have  to  pass  to  the 
delightful  hunting-grounds.  On  the  other  side  of  the 
rtream  there  are  six  persons  of  the  good  hunting-grounds, 
with  rocks  in  their  hands,  which  they  throw  at  them  all 
•when  they  are  on  the  middle  of  the  log.  The  good  walk 
on  safely,  to  the  good  hunting-grounds,  where  there  is  one 
continual  day — where  the  trees  are  always  green — where 
the  sky  has  no  clouds — where  there  are  continual  fine  and 
cooling  breezes — where  there  is  one  continual  scene  of 
feasting,  dancing,  and  rejoicing — where  there  is  no  pain  or 
trouble,  and  people  never  grow  old,  but  for  ever  live  young 
and  enjoy  the  youthful  pleasures. 

*•  The  wicked  see  the  stones  coming,  and  try  to  dodge, 
by  which  they  fall  from  the  log,  and  go  down  thousands  of 
feet  to  the  water,  which  is  dashing  over  the  rocks,  and  is 
stinking  with  dc  ■  fish,  and  animals,  where  they  are  carried 
around;  and  brought  ontinually  back  to  the  same  place  in 
whirlpools — where  tae  trees  are  all  dead,  and  the  waters 


and  try  to  dodge, 
dowa  thousands  of 
tbe  Tocks,  and  is 
,re  they  are  carried 

the  same  place  in 
ad,  and  the  waters 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


689 


are  full  of  toads  and  lizards,  and  snakes — where  the  dead 
aro  always  hungry,  and  have  nothing  to  eat — are  always 
pick,  and  never  die — whore  the  sun  never  shines,  and  where 
the  wicked  are  continually  climbing  up  by  thousands  on  the 
sides  of  a  high  rock  from  which  they  can  overlook  the  beau- 
tiful country  of  the  good  hunting-grounds,  the  place  of  the 
happy,  but  never  can  reach  it." 

Origin  of  the  Oraw-fish  band.  "Our  people  have  amongst 
them  a  band  which  is  called,  the  Graw-fiah  hand.  They 
formerly,  but  at  a  very  remote  period,  lived  under  grouml, 
and  used  to  come  out  of  the  mud — they  were  a  species  of 
crawfish;  and  they  went  on  their  hands  and  feet,  and 
lived  in  a  large  cave  deep  under  ground,  where  there  was  no 
light  for  several  miles.  They  spoke  no  language  at  all,  nor 
could  they  understand  any.  The  entrance  to  their  cave  was 
through  the  mud — and  they  used  to  run  down  through 
that,  and  into  their  cave ;  and  thus,  the  Choctaws  were 
for  a  long  time  unable  to  molest  them.  The  Choctaws  used 
to  lay  and  wait  for  them  to  come  out  into  the  sun,  where 
they  would  try  to  talk  to  them,  and  cultivate  an  ac- 
quaintance. 

"  One  day  a  parcel  of  them  were  run  upon  so  suddenly 
hy  the  Choctaws,  that  they  had  no  time  to  go  through  the 
mud  into  their  cave,  but  were  driven  into  it  by  another 
entrance,  which  they  had  through  the  rocks.  The  Choc- 
taws then  tried  a  long  time  to  smoke  them  out,  and  at  last 
succeeded — they  treated  them  kindly — taught  them  the 
Choctaw  language — taught  them  to  walk  on  two  legs — 
made  them  cut  off'  their  toe  nails,  and  pluck  the  hair  from 
their  bodies,  aftor  which  they  adopted  them  into  their  nation 
— and  the  remainder  of  them  are  living  under  ground  to 
this  day." 


u 


■■i-*!j 


i 

■t 

;-■  1 

mMp\ 

^1 

Xvul 

t     1 

'■Sw3 

*• 

i-'>4'*V: 


i'^U^i 


LETTER  No.  h- 

t.    uv,  nunne  the  last  winter,  w 
recreation  and  amnsement  »"  '^^  „„j^  of  the  swan 

IW  0/  P»»J=  I  ='"^Xctl  Ind'tihness  of  the  North, 
and  the  wM  goose,  for  the  cool  ^._^^     j  f„„„i 

Tut  the  gifted  P'^-«'="S'="nh<lr  eggs  hatehed-thelr  off 
them  here,  their  nests  ta'H-*«r  egg  ^  ^^^.^^^ 

*ring  fledged  and  fig--g  -  '-"j^Xe  'to  the  Ml  ot  St 
'  The  majestic  nver  f""  7  „ith  a  high-wrought 

Anthony,  I  have  just  P»»f°  ^^^ '    „„„aer,   like   other 
t„d    flUed  with    amazement      nd^^  ^^^^^  ^_^^ 

travellers  who  oeeas.onaly  '°"-„,„  with  admiration 
routine  of  the"  Fashionable  ^ur    tog  ^ 

upon  the  wild  -'"if «  f™;;,  Mississippi,  like  the 
great  Western  world.     Iba  vu 
(590) 


■1  ^ 


\ 


rrilONY. 

|e  last  "winter,  in 

W  Florida,  like  a 

otes  of  the  swan 

cs3oftlic:North 

ehind.  l^oMn\ 
dched-tWiroft- 
,efore  I  arrived. 

the  Fall  of  St 
h  a  high-vrroug\it 
nder,    like   other 
ale  and  profitless 
M  with  admiration 
id  majesty  of  tto 
Lsissippi,  like  tlie 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


591 


Upper  Missouri,  must  be  approached  to  be  appreciated ;  for 
all  that  can  be  seen  on  the  Mississippi  below  St.  Louis,  or 
for  several  hundred  miles  above  it,  gives  no  hint  or  clue  to 
the  magnificence  of  the  scenes  which  are  jontinually 
opening  to  the  eye  of  the  traveller,  and  riveting  him  to  the 
deck  of  the  steamer,  through  sunshine,  lightning  or  rain, 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Ouisconsin  to  the  Fall  of  St. 
Anthony. 

The  traveller,  in  ascending  the  river,  will  see  but  little  of 
picturesque  beauty  in  the  landscape,  until  he  reaches  Eock 
Island;  and  from  that  point  he  will  find  it  growing 
gradually  more  interesting,  until  he  reaches  Prairie  du 
Chien  ;  and  from  that  place  until  he  arrives  at  Lake  Pepin, 
every  reach  and  turn  in  the  river  presents  to  his  eye  a  more 
immense  and  magnificent  scene  of  grandeur  and  beauty. 
From  day  to  day,  the  eye  is  riveted  in  listless,  tireless 
admiration,  upon  the  thousand  bluffs  which  tower  in 
majesty  above  the  river  on  either  side,  and  alternate  as  the 
river  bends,  into  countless  fascinating  forms. 

The  whole  face  of  the  country  is  covered  with  a  luxuriant 
growth  of  grass,  whether  there  is  timber  or  not ;  and  the 
magnificent  bluffs,  studding  the  sides  of  the  river,  and 
rising  in  the  forms  of  immense  cones,  domes  and  ramparts, 
give  peculiar  pleasure,  from  the  deep  and  soft  green  in 
which  they  are  clad  up  their  broad  sides,  and  to  their 
extreme  tops,  with  a  carpet  of  grass,  with  spots  and  clusters 
of  timber  of  a  deeper  green ;  and  apparently  in  many  places, 
arranged  in  orchards  and  pleasure-grounds  by  the  hands  of 
art. 

The  scenes  that  are  passed  between  Prairie  du  Chien  and 
St.  Peters,  including  Lake  Pepin,  between  whose  magnifi- 
cently turreted  shores  one  passes  for  twenty-two  miles, 
will  amply  revvard  the  tourist  for  the  time  and  expense  of 
a  visit  to*  them.  And  to  him  or  her  of  too  little  relish  for 
Nature's  rude  works,  to  profit  as  they  pass,  there  will  be 
found  a  redeeming  pleasure  at  the  mouth  of  St.  Peters  and 
the  Fall    of   St.    Anthony.    This  scene  has  often  been 


•rH;it; 

I     Mill 


%M 


■m 


t^m 


B* 


With 


■n 


692 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


described,  and  I  leave  it  for  the  world  to  come  and  gaze 
upon  for  themselves ;  recommending  to  them  at  the  same 
time,  to  denorainato  the  next  "  Fashionable  Tour, "  a  trip 
to  St.  Louis ;  thence  bj  steamer  to  Rock  Island,  Galena, 
Dubuque,  Prairie  du  Chien,  Lake  Pepin,  St.  Peters,  Fall 
of  St.  Anthony,  back  to  Prairie  du  Chien,  form  theuce  to 
Fort  "Winnebago,  Green  Bay,  Mackinaw,  Sault  de  St.  Mary, 
Detroit,  Buffalo,  Niagara,  and  home.  This  Tour  would 
comprehend  but  a  small  part  of  the  great  "  Far  "West ;"  but 
it  will  furnish  to  the  traveller  a  fair  sample,  and  being  a 
part  of  it  which  is  now  made  so  easily  accessible  to  the 
world,  and  the  only  part  of  it  to  which  ladies  can  have 
access,  I  would  recommend  to  all  who  have  time  and 
inclination  to  devote  to  the  enjoyment  of  so  splendid  a 
Tour,  to  wait  not,  but  make  it  while  the  subject  is  new, 
and  capable  of  producing  the  greatest  degree  of  pleasure. 
To  the  world  at  large,  this  trip  is  one  of  surpassing  interest 
— to  the  artist  it  has  a  double  relish,  and  to  me,  still  further 
inducements ;  inasmuch  as,  many  of  the  tribes  of  Indians 
which  I  have  met  with,  furnish  manners  and  customs 
which  have  awakened  my  enthusiasm,  and  aflfoiJid  me 
interesting  materials  for  my  Gallery. 

Dubuque's  Grave  is  a  place  of  great  notoriety  on  this 
river,  in  consequence  of  its  having  been  the  residence  and 
mining  place  of  the  first  lead  mining  pioneer  of  these 
regions,  by  the  name  of  Dubuque,  who  held  his  title  under 
a  grant  frcm  the  Mexican  Government  (I  think),  and 
settled  by  the  side  of  this  l)Uge  bluff',  on  the  pinnacle  of 
which  he  erected  the  tomb  to  receive  his  own  body,  and 
placed  over  it  a  cross  with  his  own  inscription  on  it.  After 
his  death,  his  body  was  placed  within  the  tomb  at  his 
rcijuest,  lying  in  state  (and  uncovered  except  with  his 
w  inding-sheet),  upon  a  large  flat  stone,  where  it  was  exposed 
iO  the  view,  as  his  bones  now  are,  to  the  gaze,  of  every 
traveller  who  takes  the  pains  to  ascend  this  beautiful, 
grassy  and  lily-covered  mound  to  the  top,  and  peep 
through  the  gratings  of  two  little  windows,  which  have 


and  gaze 
,  tiae  same 
ir,"  a  trip 
d,  Galena, 
»eters,  Fall 
n  tlieuce  to 
le  St.  Mary,  li 

Cour  would  |i 

West;"l)ut 
and  being  a  , 

ssible  to  tlie  j| 

lies  can  liave  j, 

tve  time  and  |, 

io  splendid  a  i, 

ibject  is  new,  ,; 

JO  of  pleasure, 
assing  interest  ' 

ne,  BtilHiirtlier 
V,e3  of  Indians 
i  and  customs 
,d  affoi^d  me 

Itoriety  on  tliis 
L  residence  and 
fvoneer  of  tliesc 
Id  bis  title  under 
(I   tbinlc).  and 
tlie  pinnacle  of 
own  body,  and 
lion  on  it.    After 
the  tomb,  at  bia 
except  witb  b.3 
•re  it  was  exposed 

;e  gaze,  of  every 
vd  tbis  beautiful, 
5  top,  and  peep 
lows,  wbicb  bavc 


KORTII  AMERICAN    INDIANS. 


593 


admitted  tlio  eyes,  but  stopped  the  sacrilegious  JiancU  of 
thousands  who  have  taken  a  walk  to  it. 

At  tho  foot  of  this  blufif,  there  is  now  an  extensive 
smelting  furnace,  where  vast  quantities  of  lead  are  melted 
from  the  ores  which  are  dug  out  of  the  hills  in  all  directions 
about  it. 

The  Fall  of  St.  AntJiony, -which  is  nine  hundred  miles 
above  St.  Louis,  is  the  natural  curiosity  of  this  country, 
and  nine  miles  above  the  mouth  of  St.  Peters,  from  whence 
I  am  at  this  time  writing.  At  this  place,  on  the  point  of 
land  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  St.  Peter's  rivers,  the 
United  States  Government  have  erected  a  strong  Fort, 
which  has  taken  the  name  of  Fort  Snelling,  from  the  name 
of  a  distinguished  and  most  excellent  ofl&cer  who  super- 
intended the  building  of  it.  The  site  of  this  Fort  is  one  of 
the  most  judicious  that  could  have  been  selected  in  the 
country,  both  for  health  and  defence;  and  being  on  an 
elevation  of  one  hundred  feet  or  more  above  the  water, 
has  an  exceedingly  bold  and  picturesque  effect. 

This  Fort  is  generally  occupied  by  a  regiment  of  men 
placed  here  to  keep  the  peace  amongst  the  Sioux  and 
Chippeways,  who  occupy  the  country  about  it,  and  also  for 
the  purpose  of  protecting  the  citizens  on  the  frontier. 

Tho  Fall  of  St.  Anthony  is  about  nine  miles  above  this 
Fort,  and  the  junction  of  the  two  rivers;  and,  although  a 
picturesque  and  spirited  scene,  is  but  a  pigmy  in  size  to 
Niagara,  and  other  cataracts  in  our  country — the  actual 
perpendicular  fall  being  but  eighteen  feet,  though  of  half  a 
mile  or  so  in  extent,  which  is  the  width  of  the  river ;  with 
brisk  and  leaping  rapids  above  and  below,  giving  life  and 
spirit  to  the  scene. 

The  Sioux  who  live  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Falls,  and 
occupy  all  the  country  about  here,  west  of  the  Mississippi, 
are  a  part  of  the  great  tribe  on  the  Upper  Missouri ;  and 
the  same  in  most  of  their  customs,  yet  very  dissimilar  in 
personal  appearance,  from  the  changes  which  civilized 
examples  have  wrought  upon   them     I  mentioned  in  a 

23 


Kiiff 


:|U' 


!&# 


« iiF  i  ■ 


^H 


594 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


former  Letter,  that  the  country  of  the  Sioux,  extended  from 
the  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  banks  of  the 
Mississippi ;  and  for  the  whole  of  that  way,  it  is  more  or 
less  settled  by  this  immense  tribe,  bounding  the  east  side 
of  their  country  by  the  Mississippi  River. 


UUXTI.W;   TUE   BEATEB. 

The  Sioux  in  these  parts,  who  are  out  of  reach  of  the 
beav  rs  and  buffaloes,  are  poor  and  very  meanly  clad, 
compared  to  those  on  the  Missouri,  where  they  are  in  the 
midst  of  those  and  other  wild  animals  whose  skins  supply 
them  with  picturesque  and  comfortable  dresses.  The  same 
deterioration  also  is  seen  in  the  morals  and  constitutions  of 
these,  as  amongst  all  other  Indians,  who  live  along  the 
frontiers,  in  the  vicinity  of  our  settlements,  where  whisky 
is  sold  to  them,  and  the  small-pox  and  other  diseases  are 
introduced  to  shorten  their  lives. 

The  principal  bands  of  the  Sioux  that  visit  this  places 
and  who  live  in  the  vicinity  of  it,  are  those  known  as  the 


r 


led  from 
3  of  the 
more  or 
east  side 


kf  reach  of  the 
meanly  clad, 

Jtbey  are  in  the 
se  skins  supply 

Ls.    The  same 

constitutions  of 

live  along  the 

L  where  whisky 

ler  diseases  are 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


595 


Black  Dog's  band,  Eed  Wing's  band,  and  Wa- Desha's 
band ;  each  band  known  in  common  parlance,  by  the  name 
of  its  chief,  as  I  have  mentioned.  The  Black  Dog's  band 
reside  but  a  few  miles  above  Fort  Snelling,  on  the  banks  oi 
the  St.  Peter's,  and  number  some  five  or  six  hundred.  The 
Eed  Wing's  band  are  at  the  head  of  Lake  Pepin,  sixty 
miles  below  this  place,  on  the  west  side  of  the  river.  And 
Wa-be-sha's  band  and  village  are  some  sixty  or  more  miles 
below  Lake  Pepin  on  the  west  side  of  the  river,  on  a 
beautiful  prairie,  known  (and  ever  will  be)  by  the  name  o^ 
"  Wa-be-sha's  prairie."  Each  of  these  bands,  and  several 
others  that  live  in  this  section  of  country,  exhibit  consider- 
able industry  in  their  agricultural  pursuits,  raising  very 
handsome  corn-fields,  laying  up  their  food,  thus  procured, 
for  their  subsistence  during  the  long  and  tedious  winters. 
The  greater  part  of  the  inhabitants  of  these  bands  are 
assembled  here  at  this  time,  affording  us,  who  are  visitors 
here,  a  fine  and  wild  scene  of  dances,  amusements,  &c. 
They  seem  to  take  great  pleasure  in  "  showing  off"  in  these 
scenes,  to  the  amusement  of  the  many  fashionable  visitors, 
Doth  ladies  and  gentleman,  who  are  in  the  habit  of  reaching 
this  post,  as  steamers  are  arriving  at  this  place  every  week 
in  the  summer  from  St.  Louis. 

Many  of  the  customs  of  these  people  create  great  surprise 
in  the  minds  of  the  travellers  of  the  east,  who  here  have 
the  first  satisfactory  opportunity  of  seeing  them  ;  and  none, 
I  observe,  has  created  more  surprise,  and  pleasure  also, 
particularly  amongst  the  ladies,  than  the  mode  of  carrying 
their  infants,  slung  on  their  backs,  in  their  beautifully 
ornamented  cradles. 

The  custom  of  carrying  the  child  thus  is  not  peculiar  to 
this  tribe,  but  belongs  alike  to  all,  as  far  as  I  have  yet 
visited  them ;  and  also  as  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  learn 
from  travellers,  who  have  been  amongst  tribes  that  I  have 
not  yet  seen.  The  child  in  its  earliest  infancy,  has  its  back 
lashed  to  a  straight  board,  being  fastened  to  it  by  bandages, 
which  pass  around  it  in  front,  and  on  the  back  of  the  board 


Iw 


fc!^|. 


:1 


»h 


696 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


they  are  tightened  to  the  necessary  degree  by  lacing  strings, 
which  hold  it  in  a  straight  and  healthy  position,  with  its 
feet  resting  on  a  broad  hoop,  which  passes  around  the  foot 
of  the  cradle,  and  the  child's  position  (as  it  rides  about  on 
its  mother's  back,  supported  by  a  broad  strap  that  passes 
across  her  forehead),  that  of  standing  erect,  which,  no 
doubt,  has  a  tendency  to  produce  straight  limbs,  sound 
lungs,  and  long  life. 

The  bandages  that  pass  around  the  cradle,  holding  the 
child  in,  are  all  the  way  covered  with  a  beautiful  embroid. 
ery  of  porcupine  quills,  with  ingenious  figures  of  horses, 
men,  &c.  A  broad  hoop  of  elastic  wood  passes  around  in 
front  of  the  child's  face,  to  protect  it  in  case  of  a  fall,  from 
the  front  of  which  is  suspended  a  little  toy  of  exquisite 
embroidery,  for  the  child  to  handle  and  amuse  itself  with. 
To  this  and  other  little  trinkets  hanging  in  front  of  it,  there 
are  attached  many  little  tinselled  am:  tinkling  things,  of 
the  brightest  colore,  to  amuse  both  the  eyes  and  the  ears  of 
the  child.  Whilst  travelling  on  horseback,  the  arms  of 
the  child  arc  fastened  under  the  bandages,  so  as  not  to  be 
endangered  if  the  cradle  falls;  and  when  at  rest,  they  are 
generally  taken  out,  allowing  the  infant  to  reach  and  amuse 
itself  with  the  little  toys  and  trinkets  that  are  placed 
before  it,  and  within  its  reach.  This  seems  like  a  cruel 
mode,  but  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  it  is  a  very  good 
one  for  the  people  who  use  it,  and  well  aflapted  to  the 
circumstances  under  which  they  live  ;  in  support  of  which 
opinion,  I  offer  the  universality  of  the  custom,  which  has 
been  practiced  for  centuries  amongst  all  the  tribes  of 
North  America,  as  a  legitimate  and  a  very  strong  reason. 

Along  the  frontiers,  where  the  Indians  have  been  ridi- 
culed for  the  custom,  as  they  are  for  everything  that  is  not 
«t;i7  about  them,  they  have  in  many  instances  departed  from 
it;  but  even  there,  they  will  generally  be  seen  lugging  their 
child  about  in  this  way,  when  they  have  abandoned  almost 
every  other  native  custom,  and  are  too  poor  to  cover  it  with 
more  than  rags  and  striaj^,  which  fasten  it  to  its  cradle. 


NORTH  AMERICAN  II9DIANS. 


strings, 
witli  its 
the  foot 
about  on 
it,  passes 
{\)\c\  no 
,\)3,  sound 

>lding  the 

L  embroid 

J  of  horses, 

}  around  in 

a  fall,  from 

,f  exquisite 

,  itself  with. 

t  of  it,  there 

g  things,  of 

d  the  ears  of 
the  arms  of 
as  not  to  ho 

rest,  they  arc 

ch  and  amuse 
,t  are  placed 
like  a  cruel 
a  very  good 
.apted  to  the 
,portof  wl^ich 
»m,  which  has 
the  tribes  of 
,rong  reason. 
iavebeer  ridi- 
ding  that  is  not 
[s  departed  from 
,n  luggitig  their 
^andoned  almost 
to  cover  it  with 

:o  its  cradle. 


597 


The  infant  is  carried  in  this  manner  until  it  is  five,  six  ox 
seven  months  old,  after  which  it  is  carried  on  the  back  and 
held  within  the  folds  of  the  robe  or  blanket. 

The  manner  in  which  the  women  ride,  amongst  all  the 
tribes,  is  astride,  in  the  same  manner  as  that  practiced  by  the 
men. 

The  mourning  cradUy  opens  to  the  view  of  the  reader 
another  very  curious  and  interesting  custom.  If  the  infant 
dies  during  the  time  that  is  alloted  to  it  to  be  carried  in  this 
cradle,  it  is  buried,  and  the  disconsolate  mother  fills  the 
cradle  with  black  quills  and  feathers,  in  the  parts  which  the 
child's  body  had  occupied,  and  in  this  way  carries  it  around 
with  her  wherever  she  goes  for  a  year  or  more,  with  as 
much  care  as  if  her  infant  were  alive  and  in  it ;  and  she 
often  lays  or  stands  it  leaning  against  the  side  of  the  wigwam, 
where  she  is  all  day  engaged  in  her  needlework,  and  chatting 
and  talking  to  it  as  familiarly  and  affectionately  as  if  it  were 
her  loved  infant,  instead  of  its  shell,  that  she  was  talking  to. 
So  lasting  and  so  strong  is  the  afiection  of  these  women  for 
the  lost  child,  that  it  matters  not  how  heavy  or  cruel  their 
load,  or  how  rugged  the  route  they  have  to  pass  over,  they 
will  faithfully  carry  this,  and  carefully  from  day  to  day,  and 
even  more  strictly  perform  their  duties  to  it,  than  if  the 
child  were  alive  and  in  it. 

In  the  little  toy  that  I  have  mentioned  and  which  is 
suspended  before  the  child's  face,  is  carefully  and  super- 
stitiously  preserved  the  umbilicus,  which  is  always  secured 
at  the  time  of  its  birth,  and  being  rolled  up  into  a  little  wad 
of  the  size  of  a  pea,  and  dried,  it  is  enclosed  in  the  centre  of 
this  little  bag,  and  placed  before  the  child's  face,  as  its  pro- 
tector and  its  security  for  "  good  luck  "  and  long  life.  There 
are  a  number  of  forms  and  different  tastes  of  these  little  toys, 
which  I  have  purchased  from  the  women,  which  they  were 
very  willing  to  sell  for  a  trifling  present;  but  in  every 
instance,  they  cut  them  open,  and  removed  from  within  a 
hunch  of  cotton  or  moss,  the  little  sacred  medicine,  which, 
to  part  with,  would  be  to  '  endanger  the  health  of  the  child,' 


MmmII  '' 

^ffil 

'■■^^ 

^Hlfi' 

vKnhI  ''' ' 

M9m 

iiiwys' 

.  iiii 

mwm 

If. 


m 


II  i;f 


598 


LETTERS  A^D  N0TE3. 


,«niA  tave  induced  tbero 
_a  tog  that  uoeonsaerauon  would  lave 

i„.„y  instance  to  have  done.  _^^^^  ;,   .   „„ted 

Tch-to-imh-h>n-d«r^  (  "«   °'         tjnd.    This  notorious 

Jaicine.n.an,  of  ^^J^^-  "  *"'  '"'''  T 
old  man  «»>  P^^tTuMil  my  Wend  Dr.  Jarvis,  who 
not  very  to'»8r'''^'  "  'ery  liberally  dealt  out  from 
is  surgeon  for  the  post,  ^"J  '       ,,^4,  „,d  ends"  to 

The  public  mea-i-r""!  °Xm  t  '^  ?"»'  °''  '''"°"'' 
l.im,auawithap™^«'»"«'^«^^^,  „,t^eiT  application; 
success,  instructed  h,m  m  A    "•»  i.„,  ^en  so 

siace  which,  the  effecte  of  tas  P         W_^,^  ;„  ig„„^.^  „t 
decided  amongst  h.str>be, '.horn  ^^^^  ^^  ^^ 

his  aid  in  his  >»y*;™"' Xu  the  last  few  years,  m  the 
.luite  rapidly  into  ■">';<^^' ^'^  (inds  it  most  easy  to  ear,j 
vicinity  of  the  Fort;  ^^f^J]^  ^^^,  „bove  menUoncd. 
out  hU  new  mode  of  P."'"""?;  Jb^u-players  in  the  Sioux 

The  two  most  i^r'^''''^fJ^I^'^i\^e\rhA^-'^<^^'''' 
.ribe,stoodtomeforthe,rpo«a^j;^  , 

just  struggled  in  t^^  Play-  ^^^^  respects  from 

^  The  custom  in  th«  "^^^^^.^ton  tribes,  of  which  I 
that  of  the  Choctawa  --^f^J,^,^,A  that  they  played 
have  before  spoken;  and  1  ^^^  ^^^        ,t,ek, 

with  a  stick  in  eff  ^^^f  l^^h  hands,  with  a  round  hoop 
whichisgenerallyheld    n  both  ^^^  ^^^-'^  "f 

at  the  end,  in  which  the  b^U        J^  ^^^^  ^  ^^^^^^  ,^    ^, 
wonderful  tact;  ^  -^f  ^^  catch  the  ball  between  two 
than  that  of  t^«  ^^^^^^^  this  tribe,  differs,  inasmuch  us  it 
sticks.    The  ta^\^^7  ".^^^^^^^^       of  white  horsehavr,  as 
is  generally  made  o^^^^'!^,  '^^^^   ^     i^  other  respects,  the 
aes'cribed  amongst  t  -  Cho  ^^^^^^^  ,,,  ,,,e  as  amongst 
rules  and  manner  of  the  gai 
those  tribes.  . 


id  tbera 


J    noted 
lotorious 
ribe,  but 
•via,  who 
out  from 
ends"  to 
^d  fellow's 
)plication-, 
e  been  so 
norance  of 

has  risen 
Bars,  in  tbo 
ay  to  carry 

mentioned. 
,  tbe  Sioux 
ball-sticks  in 
.    We  bave 
,he  few  past 
tbe  ball-play 
licb  tbey  bad 

Respects  from 
ps,  of  wbicb  I 
t  tbey  playe*! 
but  one  stick, 
a  round  boop 
tbrown  witb 
sbould  tbink, 
11  between  two 
Lnasmucb  as  it 
e  borsebair,  as 
;r  respects,  tbe 
me  as  amongst 


LETTER  No.  LI. 

FORT  SNELLING,  FALL  OF  ST.  ANTHONY. 

The  Fourth  of  July  was  hailed  and  celebrated  by  us  at 
this  place,  in  an  unusual,  and  not  uninteresting  manner. 
With  the  presence  of  several  hundreds  of  the  wildest  of  the 
Chippeways,  and  as  many  hundreds  of  the  Sioux ;  we  were 
prepared  with  material  in  abundance  for  the  novel — for  tho 
wild  and  grot^que, — as  well  as  for  the  grave  and  ludi- 
crous. Major  Talliafferro,  the  Indian  agent,  to  aid  my 
views  in  procuring  sketches  of  manners  and  customs,  re- 
presented to  them  that  I  was  a  great  medicine-man,  who  had 
visited,  and  witnessed  the  sports  of  a  vast  many  Indians  of 
different  tribes,  and  had  come  to  see  whether  the  Sioux 

(599) 


W':i[ 


'Ay  •■"■ 


600 


LETTERS  AND  X0TE3  ON  THE 


and  Chippeways  were  equal  in  a  bull-play,  &c.,  to  tlieir 
neighbors ;  and  that  if  they  would  come  in  on  the  next  day 
(fourth  of  July),  and  give  us  a  ball-play,  and  some  of  their 
dances,  in  their  best  style,  he  would  have  the  big  gun  fired 
twenty-one  times  (the  customary  salute  for  that  day), 
which  they  easily  construed  into  a  high  compliment  to 
themselves.  This,  with  still  stronger  inducements,  a  barrel 
of  flour — a  quantity  of  pork  and  tobacco,  which  I  gave 
them,  brought  the  scene  about  on  the  day  of  independence, 
as  follows: — About  eleven  o'clock  (the  usual  time  for 
Indians  to  make  their  appearance  on  any  great  occasion), 
the  young  men,  who  were  enlisted  for  ball-play,  made  their 
appearance  on  the  ground  with  ball-sticks  in  hand — with 
no  other  dress  on  than  the  flap,  and  attached  to  a  girdle  or 
ornamental  sash,  a  tail,  extending  nearly  to  the  ground, 
made  of  the  choicest  arrangement  of  quills  and  feathers,  or 
of  the  hair  of  white  horses'  tails.  After  an  excited  and 
warmly  contested  play  of  two  hours,  they  adjourned  to  a 
place  in  front  of  the  agent's  office,  where  they  entertained 
us  for  two  or  three  hours  longer,  with  a  continued  variety 
of  their  most  fanciful  and  picturesque  dances.  They  gave 
us  the  beggar's-dance — the  buffalo-dance — the  bear-dance — the 
cagledance — and  dance  of  the  braves.  This  last  is  peculiarly 
beautiful,  and  exciting  to  the  feelings  in  the  highest  degree. 

At  intervals  they  stop,  and  one  of  them  steps  into  the 
ring,  and  vociferates  as  loud  as  possible,  with  the  most 
significant  gesticulations,  the  feats  of  bravery  which  he  has 
performed  during  his  life — he  boasts  of  the  scalps  he  has 
taken — of  the  enemies  he  has  vanquished,  and  at  the  same 
time  carries  his  body  through  all  the  motions  and  gestures, 
which  have  been  used  during  these  scenes  when  they  were 
transacted.  At  the  end  of  his  boasting,  all  assent  to  the 
truth  of  his  story,  and  give  in  their  approbation  by  the 
g\iUeT&\  ^^  waugh  /  "  And  the  dance  again  commences.  At 
the  next  interval,  another  makes  his  boasts,  and  another, 
and  another,  and  so  on. 

During  this  scene,  a  little  trick  was  played  off  in  the 


I  to  tliclr 

)  next  day 

e  of  their 

f  gun  fired 

t\iat  day), 

pliment  to 

ta,  a  barrel 

ich  I  gave 

lependence, 

xl  time  for 

it  occasion), 

,  made  their 
hand— with 

,o  a  girdle  or 
t^ie  ground, 

cl  feathers,  or 
excited  and 

ijourned  to  a 

ey  entertained 

tinned  variety 

s.    They  gave 

»eor-cZance— the 

Bt  is  peculiarly 

Ihighest  degree, 
steps  into  the 

Iwith  the  most 
•y  which  he  has 
^e  scalps  he  has 
ind  at  the  same 
as  and  gestures, 
Iwhen  they  were 
_  assent  to  the 
.robation  by  the 
loommences.    At 
sts,  and  another, 

Lyed  off  itt  the 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


601 


following  manner,  which  produced  much  amusement  and 
laughter.    A  woman  of  goodly  size,  and  in  woman's  attire, 
danced  into  the  ring  (which  seemed  to  excite  some  surprise, 
as  women  arc  never  allowed  to  join  in  the  dance),  and  com- 
menced *'  sawing  the  air,"  and  boasting  of  the  astonishing 
feats  of  bravery  she  had  performed— of  the  incredible  num. 
her  of  horses  she  had  stolen — of  the  scalps  she  had  taken, 
&c.,  &c.,  until  her  feats  surpassed  all  that  had  ever  been 
heard  of— sufhcient  to  put  all  the  warriors  who  had  boasted, 
to  the  blush.    They  all  gave  assent,  however,  to  what  she 
had  said,  and  apparently  credence  too;  and  to  reward  so 
extraordinary  a  feat  of  female  prowess,  they  presented  to 
her  a  kettle,  a  cradle,  beads,  ribbons,  &c.    After  getting  her 
presents,  and  placing  them  safely  in  the  hands  of  another 
matron  for  safe  keeping,  she  commenced  disrobing  herself ; 
and,  almost  instantly  divesting  herself  of  a  loose  dress,  in 
the  presence  of  the  whole  company,  came  out  in  a  soldier's 
coat  and  pantaloons/  and  laughed  at  them  excessively  for 
their  mistake  1    She  then  commenced  dancing  and  making 
her  boasts  of  her  exploits,  assuring  them  that  she  was  a 
man,  and  a  great  brave.    They  all  gave  unqualified  assent 
to  this,  acknowledged  their  error,  and  made  her  other  pre- 
sents of  a  gun,  a  horse,  of  tobacco,  and  a  war-club.    After 
her  boasts  were  done,  and  the  presents  secured  as  before, 
she  deliberately  threw  off  the  pantaloons  and  coat,  and 
presented  herself  at  once,  and  to  their  great  astonishment 
and  confusion,  in  a  beautiful  woman's  dress.    The  tact  with 
which  she  performed  these  parts,  so  uniformly  pleaded, 
that  it  drew  forth  thundering  applause  from  the  Indians,  as 
well  as  from  the  spectators ;  and  the  chief  stepped  up  and 
crowned  her  head  with  a  beautiful  plume  of  the  eagle's 
quill,  rising  from  a  crest  of  the  swan's  down.    My  wife, 
who  was  travelling  this  part  of  the  country  with  me,  was  a 
spectator  of  these  scenes,  as  well  as  the  ladies  and  officers 
of  the  garrison,  whose  polite  hospitality  we  are  at  this  time 
enjoying. 
Several  days  after  this,  the  plains  of  St.  Peters  and  St. 


^ 


hi-? 


m 
[I 


,  t;^,^!  sounds  of  drums  and 

j,„„„„y,  rang  - ^^'^^uC  y  "-^  '»»  """«"•  ""'"  " 
™ttl.s,  in  time  wt^  *° '^'^'j^  Qeneml  PaUor»„,  ol 
bad  doubly  ceased  to  te  no      j 


fconsideiablo  preparation  vas  m  ^  ^_^„j,,^ 

the  Indians  i*'™^  »°;,*X„1  the  garri^n,  they  would 
dois  that  were  ot  no  "^„°°°"  ..  The  two  dogs  vere 
give  us  their  favorite,  the  "*»*"", „,enee  of  the  wMe 
foon  produced  by  f  °»-  'y  W  L-^  them  and  placed 
rbrr.:tr:n;vrentireanduneoo.od.ona 


!,  until  il 
lerson,  ot 


this  time,  bow- 
isemeuf,  audit 
itcresting  to  all. 
le  occasion,  and 
i  get  a  couple  oi 
Ison,  tbey  >vould 
le  two  dogs  ^vere 
juce  of  tbe  wbole 
them  and  placed 
uncooked,  on  a 


NORTH   AVEHICAX   IXDIANS. 


6J3 


1 


couple  of  crotcbes  about  as  bi^jb  as  a  man's  face.  Tbese 
were  tben  cut  into  strips,  about  au  inch  in  widtb,  and  left 
hanging  in  this  condition,  with  tbe  blood  and  smoke  upon 
them.  A  spirited  dance  then  ensued ;  a.d,  in  a  confused 
manner,  every  one  sung  forth  his  own  deeds  of  bravery  in 
ejaculatory  gutturals,  which  were  almost  deafening;  and 
tbey  danced  up,  two  at  a  time  to  the  stakes,  and  after  spit- 
ting several  times  upon  the  liver  and  hearts,  catched  a 
piece  in  their  mouths,  bit  it  off',  and  swallowed  it.  This 
was  all  done  without  losing  the  step  (which  was  in  time  to 
their  music),  or  interrupting  the  times  of  their  voices. 

Each  and  every  one  of  them  in  this  wise  bit  off  and 
swallowed  a  piece  of  the  livers,  until  they  were  demo- 
lished ;  with  the  exception  of  the  two  last  pieces  hanging 
on  the  stakes,  which  a  couple  of  them  carrieu  in  their 
mouths,  and  communicated  to  the  mouths  of  the  two 
musicians  who  swallowed  them.  This  is  one  of  the  most 
valued  dances  amongst  the  Sioux,  though  by  no  means  the 
most  beautiful  or  most  pleasing.  The  beggar's  dance,  the 
discovery  dance,  and  the  eagle  dance,  are  far  more  graceful 
and  agreeable.  The  dog  dance  is  one  of  distinction,  inasmuch 
as  it  can  only  be  danced  by  those  who  have  taken  scalps 
from  the  enemy's  heads,  and  come  forward  boasting  that 
they  killed  their  enemy  in  battle,  and  swallowed  a  piece  of 
his  heart  in  the  same  manner. 

As  the  Sioux  own  and  occupy  all  the  country  on  the 
West  bank  of  the  river  in  this  vicinity ;  so  do  the  Chippe- 
ways  claim  all  lying  East,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Chippeway 
Eiver,  at  the  outlet  of  Lake  Pepin,  to  the  source  of  the 
Mississippi ;  and  within  the  month  past,  there  have  been 
one  thousand  or  more  of  them  encamped  here,  on  business 
with  the  Indian  agent  and  Sioux,  with  whom  they  have 
recently  had  some  difficulty.  These  two  hostile  foes,  who 
have,  time  out  of  mind,  been  continually  at  war,  are  now 
encamped  herCj  on  different  sides  of  the  Fort;  and  all  diffi- 
culties having  been  arranged  by  their  agent,  in  whose 
presence  they  have  been  nrnking  their  speeches,  for  these 


*  I  ■ 


41      I 

'k 


604 


LETTERS    AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


two  weeks  past,  have  been  indulging  in  every  sort  of  their 
amusements,  uniting  in  their  dances,  ball-plays  and  other 
games;  and  feasting  and  smoking  together,  only  to  raise 
the  war-cry  and  the  tomahawk  again,  when  they  get  upon 
their  hunting  grounds. 

Major  Talliafferro  is  the  Government  agent  for  the  Sioux 
at  this  place,  and  furnishes  the  only  instance  probably,  of  a 
public  servant  on  these  frontiers,  who  has  performed  the 
duties  of  his  olTice,  strictly  and  faithfully,  as  well  as  kindly, 
for  fifteen  years.  The  Indians  think  much  of  him,  a;nd  call 
him  Great  Father,  to  whose  advice  they  listen  with  the 
greatest  attention. 

The  oncatnpinent  of  the  Chippeways,  to  which  I  have 
been  a  daily  visitor,  was  built  in  the  usual  manner ;  their 
wigwams  made  of  birch  bark,  covering  the  frame  work 
which  was  of  slight  poles  stuck  in  the  ground,  and  bent 
over  at  the  top,  so  as  to  give  a  roof-like  shape  to  the  lodge, 
best  calculated  to  ward  oft"  rain  and  winds. 

Through  this  curious  scene  I  was  strolling  a  few  days 
since  with  my  wife,  and  I  observed  the  Indian  women 
gathering  around  her,  anxious  to  shake  hands  with  her, 
and  shew  her  their  children,  of  which  she  took  especial 
notice ;  and  they  literally  filled  her  hands  and  her  arms, 
with  mukkulcs  of  maple  sugar  which  they  manufacture,  and 
had  brought  in,  in  great  (quantities  for  sale. 

After  the  business  and  amusements  of  thi.s  great  Treaty 
between  the  Chippeways  and  Sioux  were  all  over,  the 
Chippeways  struck  their  tents  by  taking  them  down  and 
rolling  up  their  bark  coverings,  which,  with  their  bark 
canoes  seen  in  the  picture,  turned  up  amongst  their  wig- 
wams, were  carried  to  the  water's  edge;  and  all  things 
being  packed  in,  men,  women,  dogs,  and  all,  were  swiftly 
propelled  by  paddles  to  the  Fall  of  St.  Anthony,  where  we 
had  repaired  to  witness  their  mode  of  passing  the  cataract, 
by  "  making  (as  it  is  called)  the  portage,^''  which  we  found  to 
be  a  very  curious  .'^cene;  and  was  done  by  running  all  their 
canoes  into  an  eddy  below  the  Fall,  and  as  near  as  they 


i  of  t\ieir 
ind  otber 
y  to  raise 
get  upon 

tbe  Sioux 
bably,  of  a 
formed  tbe 
I  as  kindly, 
vm,  and  call 
;n  witb  tbe  j 

hicb  I  bave  j 

anner-,  tbcir 
frame  -work,  ; 

nd,  and  bent 
5  to  tbe  lodge, 

ng  a  few  days 
:ndian  women 
,nds  witb  ber, 

took  especial 
and  ber  arms, 

aiufaeture,  and 

,i^  great  Treaty 
[e  all  over,  tbe 
Ibcm  down  and 
[vitb  tbeir  bark 

,ngst  tbeir  wig- 
and  all  tbiugs 

vll,  were  swiftly 
[tbony,  wbere  we 
ling  tbe  cataract, 
[bicb  we  found  to 
Irunning  all  tbeir 
as  near  as  tbey 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


606 


could  get  by  paddling;  wben  all  were  landed,  and  every 
tbing  taken  out  of  tbe  canoes,  and  witb  tbem  carried  by 
tbe  women,  around  tbe  Fall,  and  half  a  mile  or  so  above, 
where  the  canoes  were  put  into  the  water  again ;  and  goods 
and  chattels  being  loaded  in,  and  all  hands  seated,  the 
paddles  were  again  put  to  work,  and  the  light  and  bound- 
ing crafts  proceed  upon  tl*or  voyage. 


THE  BARK   CANOE. 


The  bark  canoe  of  the  Chippeways  is,  perhaps,  the  most 
beautiful  and  light  model  of  all  the  water  crafts  that  ever 
were  invented.  They  are  generally  made  complete  with 
the  rind  of  one  birch  tree,  and  so  ingeniously  shaped  and 
sewed  together,  with  roots  uf  the  tamarack,  which  they  call 
icat-ta^,  that  they  arc  water-tight  and  ride  upon  the  water, 


8: 


606 


LETTERS  AXD  XOTES  ON  THE 


as  light  as  a  cork.  They  gracefully  lean  and  dodge  ahout 
under  the  skilful  balance  of  an  Indian,  or  the  ugliest 
squaw ;  but  like  everything  wild,  are  timid  and  treacherous 
under  the  guidance  of  white  man ;  and,  if  he  be  not  an 
experienced  equilibrist,  he  is  sure  to  get  two  or  three  timoa 
soused,  in  his  first  endeavors  at  familiar  acquaintance  with 
them. 

The  skin  canoes  of  the  Mandans,  (of  the  upper  Missouri, 
of  whom  I  have  spoken  in  Volume  I.),  are  made  Imost 
round  like  a  tub,  by  straining  a  buffalo's  skin  ovei  u  iVamo 
of  wicker  work,  made  of  willow  or  other  boughs.  The 
woman  in  paddling  these  awkward  tubs,  stands  in  the  bow, 


A  WELSn   CORACLE. 


and  makes  the  stroke  with  the  paddle,  by  reaching  it  for 
ward  in  the  water  and  drawing  it  to  her,  by  which  means 


NORTH   AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


GOT 


she  pulls  the  canoe  along  witli  some  considerable  speed. 
These  very  curious  and  rudely  constructed  canoes,  are 
made  in  the  form  of  the  Welsh  Gorach ;  and,  if  T  mistake 
not,  propelled  in  the  same  manner,  which  is  a  very  curious 
circumstance ;  inasmuch  as  they  are  found  in  the  heart  of 
the  great  wilderness  of  America,  when  all  the  other  sur- 
rounding tribes  construct  their  canoes  in  decidedly  different 
forms,  and  of  different  materials. 

Snow  shoes  are  used  in  deep  snows  of  the  winter,  under 
the  Indian's  feet  to  buoy  him  up  as  he  runs  in  pursuit  of 
his  game.  The  hoops  or  frames  of  these  are  made  of  elastic 
wood,  and  the  webbing,  of  strings  of  rawhide,  which  form 
such  a  resistance  to  the  snow,  as  to  carry  them  over  with- 
out sinking  into  it ;  and  enabling  them  to  come  up  with 
their  game,  whicb  is  wallowing  through  the  drifts,  and 
easily  overtaken. 

Many  were  the  dances  given  to  me  in  different  places,  of 
which  I  may  make  further  use  and  further  mention  on 
future  occasions ;  but  of  which  I  shall  name  but  one  at 
present,  the  Snow-Shoe  Z>ance,  which  is  exceeding  pictu- 
resque, being  danced  with  the  snow  shoes  under  the  feet,  at 
the  falling  of  the  first  snow  in  the  beginning  of  winter ;  when 
they  sing  a  song  of  thanksgiving  to  the  Great  Spirit  for 
sending  them  a  return  of  snow,  when  they  can  run  on  their 
snow-shoes  in  their  valued  hunts,  and  easily  take  the  game 
for  their  food. 

About  this  lovely  spot  I  have  whiled  away  a  few  months 
with  great  pleasure,  and  having  visited  all  the  curiosities, 
and  all  the  different  villages  of  Indians  in  the  vicinity,  I 
close  my  note-book  and  start  in  a  few  days  for  Prairie  du 
Cliien,  which  is  three  hundred  miles  below  this ;  where  I 
shall  have  new  subjects  for  my  brush  and  new  themes  for 
my  pen,  when  I  may  continue  my  epistles.    Adieu. 


i 


i'7  lu- 


liii 


LETTER  No.  LII. 


CAMP  DES  MOINES. 


Soon  after  the  date  of  my  last  Letter,  writteQ  at  St.  Peter's, 
having  placed  my  wife  on  board  of  the  steamer,  with  a 
party,  for  Prairie  du  Chien,  I  embarked  in  a  light  bark 
canoe,  on  my  homeward  course,  with  only  one  companion, 
Corporal  Allen,  from  the  garrison ;  a  young  man  of  con- 
siderable taste,  who  thought  he  could  relish  the  transient 
scenes  of  a  voyage  in  company  with  a  painter,  having 
gained  the  indulgence  of  Major  Bliss,  the  commanding 
officer,  with  permission  to  accompany  me. 

With  stores  laid  in  for  a  ten  days'  voyage,  and  armed  for 
any  emergency — with  sketch-book  and  colors  prepared, 
we  shoved  off  and  swiftly  glided  away  with  paddles  niinbly 
(608) 


><'■>■>,■ 


n  at  St.  Peter's, 
steamer,  w\tb  ii 
n  a  lig^t  bark 
one  compauion, 

g  man  of  con- 
sh  the  transient 
painter,  liaving 

e  commanding 

.^,  and  armed  for 
colors  prepared, 
paddles  nimbly 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INEIANS. 


609 


plied,  resolved  to  see  and  relish  every  thing  curious  or 
beautiful  that  fell  in  our  way.    We  lingered,  along,  among 
the  scenes  of  grandeur  which  presented  themselves  amid 
the  thousand  bluffs,  and  arrived  at  Prairie  du  Chien  in 
about  ten  days,  in  good  plight,  without  accident  or  incident 
of  a  thrilling  nature,  with  the  exception  of  one  instance 
which  happened  about  thirty  miles  below  St.  Peter's,  and 
on  the  first  day  of  our  journey.    In  the  after  part  of  the 
day  we  discovered  three  lodges  of  Sioux  Indians  encamped 
on  the  bank,  all  hallooing  and  waving  their  blankets  for 
us  to  come  in,  to  the  shore.    We  had  no  business  with 
them,  and  resolved  to  keep  on  our  course,  when  one  of 
them  ran  into  his  lodge,  and  coming  out  with  his  gun  in 
his  hand,  levelled  it  at  us,  and  gave  us  a  charge  of  buck- 
shot about  our  ears.    One  of  them  struck  in  my  canoe, 
passing  through  several  folds  of  my  cloak,  which  was 
folded,  and  lying  just  in  front  of  my  knee,  and  several 
others  struck  so  near  on  each  side  as  to  spatter  the  water 
into  our  faces.    There  was  no  fun  in  this,  and  I  then  ran 
my  canoe  to  the  shore  as  fast  as  possible — ^they  all  ran, 
men,  women,  and  children,  to  the  water's  edge,  meeting  us 
with  yells  and  laughter  as  we  landed.    As  the  canoe  struck 
the  shore,  I  rose  violently  from  my  seat,  and  throwing  all 
the  infuriated  demon  I  could  into  my  face — thrusting  my 
pistols  into  my  belt — a  half  dozen  bullets  into  my  mouth — 
and  my  double-barrelled  gun  in  my  hand — I  leaped  ashore 
and  chased  the  lot  of  them  from  the  beach,  throwing  myself, 
between  them  and  their  wigwams,  where  I  kept  them  for 
some  time  at  a  stand,  with  my  barrels  presented,  and  threats 
(corroborated  with  looks  which   they  could  not  misun- 
derstand) that  I  ivould  annihilate  the  whole  of  them  in  a 
minute.    As  the  gun  had  been  returned  to  the  lodge,  and 
the  man  who  fired  it  could  not  be  indentified,  the  rascal's 
life  was  thereby  probably  prolonged.    We  stood  for  some 
time  in  this  position,  and  no  explanation  could  be  made, 
other  than  that  which  could  be  read  from  the  lip  and  the 
brow,  a  language  which  is  the  same  and  read  alike,  among 

39 


eio 


LETTEKS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


all  nations.    I  slipped  my  sketch-book  and  pencil  into  my 
hand,  and  under  the  muzzle  of  my  gun,  each  fellow  stood 
for  his  likeness,  which  I  made  them  understand,  by  signs 
were  to  be  sent  to  "  Muzzabucksa"  (iron  cutter),  the  name 
they  gave  to  Major  TalliafFerro,  their  agent  at  St  Peter's. 

This  threat,  and  the  continued  vociferation  of  the  cor- 
poral from  the  canoe,  that  I  was  a  **  Grande  Capitaine," 
seemed  considerably  to  alarm  them.  I  at  length  gradually 
drew  myself  off,  but  with  a  lingering  eye  upon  the  sneaking 
rascals,  who  stood  in  sullen  silence,  v/ith  one  eye  upon  me 
and  the  other  upon  the  corporal;  who  I  found  had  held 
them  at  bay  from  the  bow  of  his  canoe,  with  his  musket 
levelled  upon  them — his  bayonet  fixed — his  cartouch  box 
slung,  with  one  eye  in  full  blaze  over  the  barrel,  and 
the  other  drawn  down  within  two  parts  of  an  inch  of  the 
upper  corner  of  his  mouth.  At  my  approach,  his  muscles 
were  gradually  (but  somewhat  reluctantly)  relaxed.  "We 
seated  ourselves,  and  quietly  dipped  our  paddles  again  on 
our  way. 

Some  allowance  must  be  made  for  this  outrage,  and  many 
others  that  could  be  named,  that  have  taken  place  amongst 
that  part  of  the  Sioux  nation ;  they  have  been  for  many 
years  past  made  drunkards,  by  the  solicitations  of  white 
men,  and  then  abused,  and  their  families  also ;  for  which, 
when  they  are  drunk  (as  in  the  present  instance),  they  are 
often  ready,  and  disposed  to  retaliate  and  return  insult  for 
injuries. 

We  went  on  peaceably  and  pleasantly  during  the  rest  of 
our  voyage,  having  ducks,  deer,  and  bass  for  our  game  and 
our  food ;  our  bed  was  generally  on  the  grass  at  the  foot  of 
some  towering  bluff,  where,  in  the  melancholy  stillness  of 
night,  we  were  lulled  to  sleep  by  the  liquid  notes  of  the 
whip-poor-will ;  and  after  his  warbling  ceased,  roused  by 
the  mournful  complaints  of  the  starving  wolf,  or  surprised 
by  the  startling  interrogation,  "  who  1  who  1  who  1"  by  the 
winged  monarch  of  the  dark. 

There  is  a  somethinoc  that  fills  and  feeds  the  mind  of  an 


L  into  my 
Low  stood 
by  signs, 
the  name 
t  Peter's, 
jf  tlie  cor- 
Capitaine," 
ti  gradually 
tie  sneaking 
^e  upon  me, 
id  had  lield 
his  musket 
lartoucli  box 
,  barrel,  and 
1  incli  of  the 
1,  bis  muscles 
relaxed.    We 
Idles  again  on 

age,  and  many 
place  amongst 
been  for  many 
,tions  of  white 
jo;  fo^  "which, 
jtance),  tW  are 
return  insult  for 

Liring  the  rest  of 
L  our  game  and 
lass  at  the  foot  of 
Iboly  stillness  of 
fuid  notes  of  the 
leased,  roused  by 
Lolf,  or  surprised 
%lwborbytke 

tbe  mind  of  an 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


611 


enthusiastic  man,  when  he  is  thrown  upon  natural  resources, 
amidst  the  rude  untouched  scenes  of  nature,  which  cannot 
be  described ;  and  I  leave  the  world  to  imagine  the  feelings 
of  pleasure  with  which  I  found  myself  again  out  of  the 
din  of  artful  life,  among  scenes  of  grandeur  worthy  of  the 
whcl"    01        3votion,  and  admira-    !,. 

W  u^^  the  ^rning's  dew  was  shatLcn  off,  our  coffee  en- 
joyed, our  light  bark  again  launched  upon  the  water,  and 
the  chill  of  the  morning  banished  by  the  quick  stroke  of 
the  paddle,  and  the  busy  chaunt  of  the  corporal's  boat-song, 
our  ears  and  our  eyes  were  open  to  the  rude  scenes  ot 
romance  that  were  about  us — our  light  boat  ran  into  every 
ledge — dodged  into  every  slough  or  "  cui-off^  to  be  seen — 
every  mineral  was  examined — every  cave  explored — and 
almost  every  bluff  of  grandeur  ascended  to  the  top.  These 
towering  edifices  of  nature,  which  will  stand  the  admiration 
of  thousands  and  tens  of  thousands,  unchanged  and  un- 
changeable, though  grand  and  majestic  to  the  eye  of  the 
passing  traveller,  will  be  found  to  inspire  new  ideas  of 
magnitude  when  attempted  to  be  travelled  to  the  top. 
From  the  tops  of  many  of  them  I  have  sketched  for  the 
information  of  the  world,  and  for  the  benefit  of  those  who 
travel  much,  I  would  recommend  a  trip  to  the  summit  of 
"Pike's  Tent"  (the  highest  bluff  on  the  river),  one  hundred 
miles  above  Prairie  du  Chien;  to  the  top  also  of  "La 
Montaigne  qui  tromps  a  I'eau" — the  sumit  of  Bad  Axe 
Mountain — and  a  look  over  Lake  Pepin's  turreted  shores 
from  the  top  of  the  bluff  opposite  to  the  **  Lover's  Leap," 
being  the  highest  on  the  lake,  and  the  point  from  which 
tbe  greater  part  of  its  shores  can  be  seen. 

Along  the  shores  of  this  beautiful  lake  we  lingered  for 
several  days,  and  our  canoe  was  hauled  a  hundred  times 
upon  the  pebbly  beach,  where  we  spent  hours  and  days, 
robbing  it  of  its  precious  gems,  which  are  thrown  up  by 
the  waves.  We  found  many  rich  agates,  cornelians,  jaspers 
and  porphyries.  The  agates  are  many  of  them  peculiarly 
beautiful,  most  of  them  water-waved — their  colors  brilliant 


m 


It. 


,  v:  I  •  '■  • 


II! 

;i:t 


in 


612 


LETTERS   AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


and  beautifully  striated.  "Point  aux  Sables"  has  been 
considered  the  most  productiye  part  of  the  lake  for  these 
gems ;  but  owing  to  the  fre([mMit  landings  of  the  steam-boats 
and  other  craft  on  that  pi)int,  the  best  specimens  of  them 


TUE  LOVE't'S  LEAP. 


have  been  picked  up ;  and  the  traveller  will  now  be  best 
remunerated  for  his  troul  le,  by  tracing  the  shore  around 


j"  has  l)oen 
iko  for  these 
e  stcara-boata 
ncns  of  tliem 


NOKTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


613 


into  some  of  its  coves,  or  on  some  of  its  points  less  fre- 
quented by  tlie  footsteps  of  man. 

The  Lover's  Leap,  is  a  bold  and  projecting  rock,  of  six  or 
seven  hundred  foet  elevation  on  the  east  side  of  the  lake, 
from  the  summit  of  which,  it  is  said,  a  beautiful  Indian 
girl,  the  daughter  of  a  chief,  threw  herself  off  in  presence 
of  her  tribe,  some  fifty  years  ago,  and  dashed  herself  to 
piece?,  to  avoid  being  married  to  a  man  whom  her  father 
had  decided  to  be  her  husband,  and  whom  she  would  not 
marry.    On  our  way,  after  we  had  left  the  beautiful  shores 


[r  will  now  be  best 
the  shore  around 


LIEUTENANT  (AFTERWARDS  GENERAL)  FIKE. 

of  Lake  Pepin,  we  passed  the  magnificent  bluff  called 
^^  Pike's  7t'n<,"  and  undoubtedly,  the  highest  eminence  on 
the  river,  running  up  in  the  form  of  a  tent ;  from  which 


■"^■mn 


;i5  !<,  si 


614 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


circumstance  and  that  of  its  having  been  first  ascended  by 
Lieutenant  Pike,  it  has  taken  the  name  of  Pike's  Tent  which 
it  will  doubtless  for  ever  retain. 

The  corporal  and  I  ran  our  little  craft  to  the  base  of  this 
stupendous  pyramid,  and  spent  half  a  day  about  its  sides 
and  its  pinnacle,  admiring  the  lovely  and  almost  boundless 
landscape  that  lies  beneath  it. 

To  the  top  of  this  grass  covered  mound  I  would  advise 
every  traveller  in  the  country,  who  has  the  leisure  to  do  it, 
and  sinew  enough  in  his  leg,  to  stroll  awhile,  and  enjoy 
what  it  may  be  difiicult  for  him  to  see  elsewhere. 

"  Oap  au  Vail "  (Garlic  Cape)  about  twenty  miles  above 
Prairie  du  Chien  is  another  beautiful  scene — and  the 
"  Cornice  rocks  "  on  the  West  bank,  where  my  little  bark 
rested  two  days,  till  the  corporal  and  I  had  taken  bass  from 
every  nook  and  eddy  about  them  where  our  hooks  could  be 
dipped.  To  the  lover  of  fine  fish,  and  fine  sport  in  fishing, 
I  would  recommend  an  encampment  for  a  few  days  on  this 
picturesque  ledge,  where  his  appetite  and  his  passion  will 
soon  be  gratified. 

Besides  these  picturesque  scenes  I  made  drawings  also  of 
all  the  Indian  villages  on  the  way,  and  of  many  other  inter- 
esting points  which  are  curious  in  my  collection,  but  too 
numerous  to  introduce  in  this  place. 

In  the  midst,  or  half-way  of  Lake  Pepin,  which  is  an 
expansion  of  the  river  of  four  or  five  miles  in  width,  and 
twenty-five  miles  in  length,  the  corporal  and  I  hauled  our 
canoe  out  upon  the  beach  of  Point  aux  Sables,  where  we 
spent  a  couple  of  days,  feasting  on  plums  and  fine  fish  and 
wild  fowl,  and  filling  our  pockets  with  agates  and  cornelians 
we  were  picking  up  along  the  pebbly  beach ;  and  at  last, 
started  on  our  way  for  the  outlet  of  the  lake,  with  a  fair 
North  West  wind,  which  wafted  us  along  in  a  delightful 
manner,  as  I  sat  in  the  stern  and  steered,  while  the  corporal 
was  "catching  the  breeze"  in  a  largo  umbrella,  which  he 
spread  open  and  held  in  the  bow.  We  went  morrily  and 
exultingly  on   in  this  manner,  until  at  length  the  wind 


jccnded  by 
Tent  which 

baae  of  this 
out  its  sides 
ist  boundless 

(Tould  advise 
sure  to  do  it, 
le,  and  enjoy 
are. 

J  miles  above 
jne — and  the 
my  little  bark 
iken  bass  from 
looks  could  be 
port  in  fishing, 
vv  days  on  this 
lib  passion  will 

Tawings  also  of 
any  other  intcr- 
cction,  but  too 

|in,  which  is  an 
.9  in  width,  and 
.id  I  hauled  our 
[ables,  where  we 
ind  fine  fish  and 
js  and  cornelians 
ich ;  and  at  last, 
flake,  with  a  fair 
^  in  a  delightful 
rhile  the  corporal 
ibrella,  which  he 
[vent  morrily  and 
length  the  wind 


NORTH  AMERICAX  INDIANS. 


m 


inorea-ed  to  anything  but  a  gale;  and  the  waves  were 
foaming  white,  and  dashing  on  the  shores  where  we  could 
not  land  without  our  frail  bark  being  broken  to  pieces. 
We  soon  became  alarmed,  and  saw  that  our  only  safety  was 
in  keeping  on  the  course  that  we  were  running  at  n  rapid 
rate,  and  that  with  our  sail  full  set  to  brace  up  and  steady 
our  boat  on  the  waves,  while  we  kept  within  swimming 
distance  of  the  shore,  resolved  to  run  into  the  first  cove,  or 
around  the  first  point  we  could  find  for  our  protection. 

"We  kept  at  an  equal  distance  from  the  shore — and  in  this 
most  critical  condition,  the  wind  drove  us  ten  or  fifteen 
miles,  without  a  landing-place,  till  we  exultingly  steered 
into  the  mouth  of  the  Chippeway  river,  at  the  outlet  of  the 
lake,  where  we  soon  found  quiet  and  safety ;  but  found  our 
canoe  in  a  sinking  condition,  bein;j  half  full  of  water,  and 
having  three  of  jive  of  her  beams  or  braces  broken  out, 
with  which  serious  disasters,  a  few  rods  more  of  the  fuss 
and  confusion  would  have  sent  us  to  the  bottom.  We  here 
laid  by  part  of  a  day,  and  having  repaired  our  disasters, 
wended  our  way  again  pleasantly  and  successfully  on. 

Ai,  Prairie  du  Chien,  which  is  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Ouisconsin  River,  and  six  hundred  miles  above  St.  Louis, 
where  we  safely  landed  my  canoe,  I  found  my  wife  enjoying 
the  hospitality  of  Mrs.  Judge  Lockwood,  who  had  been  a 
schoolmate  of  mine  in  our  childhood,  and  is  now  residing 
with  her  interesting  family  in  that  place.  Under  her  hos- 
pitable roof  we  spent  a  few  weeks  with  great  satisfaction, 
aft^r  which  my  wife  took  steamer  for  Dubuque  and  I  took 
to  my  little  bark  canoe  alone  (having  taken  leave  of  the  cor- 
poral), which  I  paddled  to  this  place  quite  leisurely — 
cooking  my  own  meat  and  having  my  own  fun  as  I  passed 
along. 

Prairie  du  Chien  has  been  one  of  the  earliest  and  prin- 
cipal trading  posts  of  the  Fur  Company,  and  they  now 
have  a  large  establishment  at  that  place ;  but  doing  far  less 
business  than  formerly,  owing  to  the  great  mortality  of  the 
Indians  in  its  vicinity,  and  the  destruction  of  the  game, 


lllijl 


616 


LETTEU3  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


which  has  almost  entirely  disappeared  in  these  regions. 
The  prairie  is  a  beautiful  elevation  above  the  river,  of  sev- 
eral miles  in  length,  and  a  mile  or  so  in  width,  with  a  most 
picturesque  range  of  grassy  bluffs  encompassing  it  in  the 
rear.  The  Government  have  erected  there  a  substantial 
Fort,  in  which  are  generally  stationed  three  or  four  compa- 
nies of  men,  for  the  purpose  (as  at  the  Fall  of  St.  Anthony) 
of  keeping  the  peace  amongst  the  hostile  tribes,  and  also 
of  protecting  the  frontier  inhabitants  from  the  attacks  ot 
excited  savages.  There  are  on  the  prairie  some  forty  or 
fifty  families,  mostly  French  or  half-breeds,  whose  lives 
have  been  chiefly  spent  in  the  arduous  and  hazardous 
occupations  of  trappers,  and  tradurs,  and  voyageurs, 
which  has  well  qualified  them  for  the  modes  of  dealing 
with  Indians,  where  they  have  settled  down  and  stand 
ready  to  compete  with  one  another  lor  their  shares  of 
annuities,  &c.,  which  are  dealt  out  to  the  difterent  tribes 
who  concentrate  at  that  place,  and  are  easily  drawn  from 
the  poor  Indians'  hands  by  whisky  and  useless  gew-gaws. 

The  consequence  of  this  system  in,  that  there  is  about 
that  place,  almost  one  continual  scene  of  wretchedness,  and 
drunkenness,  and  disease  amongst  the  Indians,  who  come 
there  to  trade  and  to  receive  their  annuities,  that  disgusts 
and  sickens  the  heart  of  every  stranger  that  extends  his 
travels  to  it. 

When  I  was  there,  Wa-be-sha's  band  of  the  Sioux  came 
there,  and  remained  several  weeks  to  got  their  annuities, 
which,  when  they  rc'cived  them,  fell  (as  they  always  will 
do),  far  short  of  paying  oft'  the  account,  which  the  Traders 
take  good  care  to  have  standing  ag.iinst  them  ior  goods  fur- 
nished them  on  a  year's  credit.  However,  whether  they  pay 
off  or  not,  they  can  always  get  whisky  enough  for  a  grand 
carouse  and  a  brawl,  which  lasts  for  a  week  or  two,  and 
almost  sure  to  terminate  the  lives  of  some  of  their  numbers. 

At  the  end  of  one  of  these  a  few  days  since,  after  the  men 
bad  enjoyed  the  surfeit  of  whisky,  and  wanted  a  little 
more  amusement,  and  felt  disposed  to  indulge  the  weaker 


30  regions, 
ror,  of  sev- 
vith  a  most 
g  it  in  the 

BubBtantial 
four  compa- 
it.  Anthony) 
jes,  and  also 
10  attacks  ot 
lomo  forty  or 

whoso  Uvea  j 

id  hazardous 
\   voyageura, 
es  of  dealing 
yvn  and  stand 
tieir  shares  of 
iiffcrcnt  tribes 
[\y  drawn  from 
ess  gew-gawa. 
I  there  is  about 
etchedness,  and 
lans,  who  come 

:3,  tivat  disgusts 

liat  extends  his 

the  Sioux  camo 
their  annuities, 
hey  always  will 
hich  the  Traders 
tern  for  goods  fur- 
whether  they  pay 
|>ug\i  for  a  grand 
feck  or  two,  and 
jf  their  numbers, 
ice,  after  the  men 

I   ^vanted  a  little 
ilulgc  the  weaker 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


617 


SOX  in  a  littlo  recreation  also ;  it  was  announced  amongst 
them  and  through  tho  village,  that  tba  women  were  going 
to  have  a  ball-play  1 

For  this  purpose  the  men,  in  their  very  liberal  trades 
they  wero  making,  and  filling  their  canoes  with  goods  do- 
livored  to  them  on  a  year's  credit,  laid  out  a  great  quantity 
of  ribbons  and  calicoes,  with  other  presents  well  adanted 
to  tho  wants  and  desires  of  tho  women ;  which  were  hung 
on  a  polo  resting  on  crotches,  and  gur  ded  by  an  old  n.an, 
who  was  to  be  judge  and  umpire  of  the  play  whicu  was  to 
take  place  amongst  the  women,  who  wero  divided  ioto  two 
equal  parties,  and  were  to  play  a  desp'^rate  gai.  3  of  ball, 
for  tho  valuable  stakes  that  were  hanging  before  them. 

In  the  ball- play  of  tho  women,  they  have  two  balj?  at- 
tached to  the  ends  of  a  string,  about  a  foot  and  '  half  long ; 
and  each  woman  has  a  short  stick  in  each  hai  cl,  on  which 
she  catches  the  string  with  the  two  balls,  and  inrowa  them, 
endeavoring  to  force  them  over  the  goal  of  her  own  party. 
The  men  are  more  than-half  drunk,  when  they  feel  liberal 
enough  to  indulge  the  women  in  such  an  amusement ;  and 
take  infinite  pleasure  in  rolling  about  on  the  .Tound  and 
laughing  to  excess,  whilst  the  women  are  tumbling  about 
in  all  attitudes,  and  scufHing  for  the  ball.    The  game  of 
"  hunt  the  slipper"  oven  loses  its  zest  after  witnessing  one 
of  these,  which  sometimes  last  for  hours  together ;  and  often 
exhibits  tho  hottest  contest  for  tho  balls,  exactly  over  tho 
heads  of  the  men ;  who  half  from  v.hisky,  and  half  from 
inclination,  are  laying  in  groups  Uiiil  iiat  upon  the  ground. 
Prairie  du  Ohien  is  the  concentrating  place  of  the  Win- 
nebagoes  and  Menomonies,  who  inhabit  tho  waters  of  the 
Ouisconsin  and  Fox  Rivers,  and  tho  chief  part  of  the  country 
lying  east  of  the  Missisaippi,  and  west  of  Green  Bay. 

The  Winnebagoes  are  the  remnant  of  a  once  powerful  and 
warlike  tribe,  but  are  now  left  in  a  country  where  they 
have  neither  beasts  nor  men  to  war  with ;  and  are  in  a  most 
miserable  and  impoverished  condition.  Tho  numbers  of 
this  tribe  do  not  exceed  four  thousand ;  and  the  most  of 


'u.-t 


;  ;'"  I 


•.■.ii 


618 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


them  have  sold  even  their  guns  and  ammunition  for 
whisky.  Like  the  Sioux  and  Menomonies  that  come  in  to 
this  post,  they  have  several  times  suffered  severely  with  the 
small-pox,  which  has  in  fact  destroyed  the  greater  pro- 
portion of  them. 

thb  menomonies, 

Like  the  Winnebagoes,  are  the  remnant  of  a  much  more 
numerous  and  independent  tribe,  but  have  been  reduced 


THR  BANK. 


and  enervated  by  the  use  of  whisky  and  the  ravages  of  the 
small-pox,  and  number  at  this  time,  something  like  three 


nition  for 
come  in  to 
ily  vritli  tlie 
greater  pro- 


mucli  more 
)een  reduced 


the  ravages 


of  the 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


619 


ething  like  three 


thousand,  living  chiefly  on  the  banks  of  the  Fox  River,  and 
the  "Western  shore  of  Green  Bay.  They  visit  Prairie  du 
Chien,  where  their  annuities  are  paid  them;  and  they 
indulge  in  the  bane,  like  the  tribes  that  I  have  mentioned. 
During  such  a  Tour  between  the  endless*  banks,  carpeted 
with  green,  with  one  of  the  richest  countries  in  the  world, 
extending  back  in  every  direction,  the  mind  of  a  contem- 
plative man  is  continually  building  for  posterity  splendid 
seats,  cities,  towers  and  villas,  which  a  few  years  of  rolling 
time  will  bring  about,  with  new  institutions,  new  states,  and 
almost  empires ;  for  it  would  seem  that  this  vast  region  ot 
rich  soil  and  green  fields,  was  almost  enough  for  a  world 
of  itself. 

I  hauled  my  canoe  out  of  the  water  at  Dubuque,  where  I 

joined  my  wife  again  in  the  society  of  kind  and  hospitable 

friend3,  and  found  myself  amply  repaid  for  a  couple  ot 

weeks'  time  spent  in  the  examination  of  the  extensive  lead 

mines ;  walking  and  creeping  through  caverns,  some  eighty 

or  one  hundred  feet  below  the  earth's  surface,  decked  in 

nature's  pure  li  \rery  of  stalactites  and  spar — with  walls,  and 

sometimes  ceilings,  of  glistening  massive  lead.    And  I  hold 

yet  (and  ever  shall)  in  my  mind,  without  loss  of  a  fraction 

of  feature  or  expression,  the  image  of  one  of  my  companions, 

and  the  scene  that  at  one  time  was  about  him.    His  name 

is  Jeffries.    "We  were  in  "  Lockwood's  Cave,"  my  wife  and 

ar  >ther  lady  were  behind,  and  he  advancing  before  me; 

his  ribs,  more  elastic  than  mine,  gave  him  entrance  through 

a  crevice,  into  a   chamber  yet  unexplored;  he  dared  the 

pool,  for  there  was  one  of  icy  water,  and  translucent  as  the 

air  itself.    "We  stood  luckless  spectators,  to  gaze  and  envy, 

while  he  advanced.     The  lighted  flambeau  in  his  hand 

brought  the  splendid  furniture  of  this  tasselated  palace  into 

view ;  the  surface  of  the  jostled  pool  laved  his  sides  as  he 

advanced,  and  the  rich  stalagmites  that  grew  up  from  the 

bottom  reflected  a  golden  light  through  the  water,  while 

the  walla  and  ceiling  were  hung  with  stalactites  which 

glittered  like  (Uamonds. 


.;    I 


620 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


In  this  wise  he  stood  in  silent  gaze,  in  awe  and  admira- 
tion of  the  hidden  works  of  Nature ;  his  figure,  as  high  as 
the  surface  of  the  water  was  magnified  into  a  giant — and 
his  head  and  shoulders  not  unfit  for  a  Cyclop.  In  fact,  he 
was  a  perfect  figure  of  Vulcan.  The  water  in  which  he 
stood  was  a  lake  of  liquid  fire — he  held  a  huge  hammer  in 
his  right  hand  and  a  flaming  thunderbolt  in  his  left,  which 
he  had  just  forged  for  Jupiter.  There  was  but  one  thing 
wanting,  it  was  the  "  sound  of  the  hammer"  which  was  soon 
given  in  peals  upon  the  beautiful  pendants  of  stalactite  and 
spar,  which  sent  back  and  through  the  cavern  the  hollow 
tones  of  thunder. 

A  visit  of  a  few  days  to  Dubuque  will  be  worth  the  while 
of  every  traveller ;  and  for  the  speculator  and  man  of  enter- 
prise, it  affords  the  finest  field  now  open  in  our  country. 
It  is  a  small  town  of  two  hundred  houses,  built  entirely 
within  the  last  two  years,  on  one  of  the  most  delightful 
sites  on  the  river,  and  in  the  heart  of  the  richest  and  most 
productive  parts  of  the  mining  region ;  having  this  advan- 
tage over  most  other  mining  countries,  that  immediately 
over  the  richest  (and  in  fact  all)  of  the  lead  mines ;  the  laud 
on  the  surface  produces  the  finest  corn,  and  all  other  vege- 
tables that  may  be  put  into  it.  This  is  certainly  the  richest 
section  of  country  on  the  continent,  and  those  who  live  a 
few  years  to  witness  the  result,  will  be  ready  to  sanction 
my  assertion,  that  it  is  to  be  the  mint  of  our  country. 

From  Dubuque,  I  descended  the  river  on  a  steamer,  with 
my  bark  canoe  laid  on  its  deck,  and  my  wife  was  my  com- 
panion, to  Camp  Dcs  Moines,  from  whence  I  am  now 


writing. 


After  arriving  at  this  place,  which  is  the  wintering  post 
of  Colonel  Kearney,  with  his  three  companies  of  dragoons, 
I  seated  my  wife  and  two  gentlemen  of  my  intimate 
acquaintance,  in  my  bark  canoe,  and  paddled  them  through 
the  Des  Moines  Rapids,  a  distance  of  fourteen  miles,  which 
we  performed  in  a  very  short  time ;  and  at  the  foot  of  the 
Kapids,  placed  my  wife  on  the  steamer  for  St.  Louis,  in 


admira- 
s  laigli  aa 
ant— and 
a  fact,  he 
■yvliicTa  ho 
lammer  in 
left,  which 

one  thing 
h  vras  soon 
alactite  and 
the  hoUoYT 

th  the  while 
nan  of  enter- 
our  country, 
juilt  entirely 
3St  delightful 
est  and  most 
,cf  this  advan- 
t  immediately 
ines;  the  land 
ill  other  vege- 
oly  the  richest 
ose  who  live  a 
,ay  to  sanction 

,  country. 

|a  steamer,  with 

fe  was  my  corn- 
ice I  am  now 


NORTH  AirERICAN  INDIANS. 


621 


company  with  some  friends,  when  I  had  some  weeks  to 
return  on  my  track,  and  revert  back  again  to  the  wild  and 
romantic  life  that  I  occasionally  love  to  lead.  I  returned 
to  Camp  Des  Moines,  and  in  a  few  days  joined  General 
Street,  the  Indian  Agent,  in  a  tour  to  Ke-o-kuck'a  village 
of  Sacs  and  Foxes. 

Colonel  Kearney  gave  us  a  corporal's  command  of  eight 
men,  with  horses,  &c.,  for  the  journey;  and  we  reached  the 
village  in  two  days'  travel,  about  sixty  miles  up  the  Des 
Moines.  The  whole  country  {hat  we  passed  over  was  like 
a  garden,  wanting  only  cultivation,  being  mostly  prairie, 
and  we  found  their  village  beautifully  situated  on  a  large 
prairie,  on  the  bank  of  the  Des  Moines  river.  They  seemed 
to  be  well  supplied  with  the  necessaries  of  life,  and  with 
sompi  of  its  luxuries.  I  found  Ke-o-kuck  to  be  a  chief  of 
fine  and  portly  figure,  with  a  good  countenance,  and  great 
dignity  and  grace  in  his  manners. 

General  Street  had  some  documents  from  Washington,  to 
read  to  him,  which  he  and  his  chiefs  listened  to  with  great 
patience ;  afler  which  he  placed  before  us  good  brandy  and 
good  wine,  and  invited  us  to  drink,  and  to  lodge  with  him ; 
he  then  called  up  five  of  his  runners  or  criers^  communicated 
to  them  in  a  low  but  emphatic  tone,  the  substance  of  the 
talk  from  the  agent,  and  of  the  letters  read  to  him,  and  they 
started  at  full  gallop — one  of  them  proclaiming  it  through 
his  village,  and  the  others  sent  express  to  the  other  villages, 
comprising  the  whole  nation.  Ke-o-kuck  came  in  with  us, 
with  about  twenty  of  his  principal  men — he  brought  in  all 
his  costly  wardrobe,  that  I  might  select  for  his  portrait  such 
as  suited  me  best ;  but  at  once  named  (of  his  own  accord) 
the  one  that  was  purely  Indian.  In  that  he  paraded  for 
several  days,  and  in  it  I  painted  him  at  full  length.  He  is  a 
man  of  a  great  deal  of  pride,  and  makes  truly  a  splendid 
appearance  on  his  black  horse.  lie  owns  the  finest  horse 
in  the  country,  and  is  excessively  vain  of  his  appearance 
when  mounted,  and  arrayed,  himself  and  horse,  in  all  their 
gear  and  trappings.    He  expressed  a  wish  to  see  himself 


^^.^-T'^t 


I  '('^ 


rj,i  i 


622 


LBTTEBS  AND  NOTES. 


represented  on  horseback,  and  I  painted  him  in  that  plight. 
He  rode  and  nettled  his  prancing  steed  in  front  of  my  door, 
until  its  sides  were  in  a  gore  of  blood.  I  succeeded  to  hia 
satisfaction,  and  his  vanity  is  increased,  no  doubt,  by  seeing 
himself  immortalized  in  that  way.  After  finishing  him,  I 
I  painted  his  favorite  wife  (the  favored  one  of  seven),  his 
favorite  boy,  and  eight  or  ten  of  his  principal  men  and 
women ;  after  which,  ho  and  all  his  men  shook  hands  with 
me,  wishing  me  well,  and  leaving,  as  tokens  of  regard,  the 
most  valued  article  of  his  dress,  and  a  beautiful  string  of 
wampum,  which  he  took  from  his  wife's  neck. 

They  then  departed  for  their  village  in  good  spirits,  to 
prepare  for  their  fall  hunt. 

Of  this  interesting  interview  and  its  incidents,  and  of 
these  people,  I  shall  soon  give  the  reader  a  further  account, 
and  therefore  close  my  note-book  for  the  present.     Adieu, 


I — 


it  plight, 
cay  doOT, 
,ed  to  his 
by  seeing 
ng  liim,I 
seven),  liia 
men  and 
tiands  vritli 
regard,  tlie 
1  string  of 

i  spirits,  to 

.ents,  and  of 
tlier  account, 
©at.     Adie^ 


LETTER  No.  LIIL 
SAINT  LOUIS. 

It  will  be  seen  by  the  heading  of  this  Letter  that  I  am 
back  again  to  "  head-quarters,"  where  I  have  joined  my 
wife,  and  being  seated  down  by  a  comfortable  fire,  am  to 
take  a  little  retrospect  of  my  rambles,  from  the  time  of  my 
last  epistle. 

The  return  to  the  society  of  old  friends  again,  has  been 
delightful,  and  amongst  those  whom  I  more  than  esteem,  I 
have  met  my  kind  and  faithful  friend  Joe  Ohadwick,  whom 
I  have  often  mentioned,  as  my  companion  in  distress  whilst 
on  that  disastrous  campaign  amongst  the  Caraanchees. 

Joe  and  I  have  taken  great  pleasure  in  talking  over  the 

(623) 


is  3' 


624 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


many  curious  scenes  wo  have  passed  together,  many  of 
which  are  as  yet  unknown  to  others  than  ourselves.  We 
had  been  separated  for  nearly  two  years,  and  during  that 
time  I  had  passed  many  curious  scenes  worthy  of  Joe's 
knowing,  and,  while  he  sat  down  in  the  chair  for  a  portrait 
I  painted  of  him  to  send  to  his  mother,  on  leaving  the 
States,  to  take  an  appointment  from  Governor  Houston  in 
the  Texan  army,  I  related  to  him  one  or  two  of  my  recent 
incidents,  which  were  as  follows,  and  pleased  Joe  exceed- 
ingly : 

"After  I  had  paddled  my  bark  canoe  through  the 
rapids,  with  my  wife  and  others  in  it,  as  I  mentioned,  and 
had  put  them  on  board  a  steamer  for  St.  Louis,  I  dragged 
my  canoe  up  the  east  shore  of  the  rapids,  with  a  line,  for  a 
distance  of  four  miles,  when  I  stopped  and  spent  half  of  the 
day  in  collecting  some  very  interesting  minerals,  which  I 
had  in  the  bottom  of  my  canoe,  and  ready  to  get  on  the 
first  steamer  passing  up,  to  take  me  again  to  Camp  Des 
Moines,  at  the  head  of  the  rapids. 

"  I  was  sitting  on  a  wild  and  wooded  shore,  and  waiting, 
when  I  at  length  discovered  a  steamer  several  miles  below 
me,  advancing  through  the  rapids,  and  in  the  interim  I  set 
too  and  cleaned  my  fowling-piece  and  a  noble  pair  of 
pistols,  which  I  had  carried  in  a  belt  at  my  side,  through 
my  buffalo  and  other  sports  of  the  "West,  and  having  put 
them  in  fine  order  and  deposited  them  in  the  bottom  of  the 
canoe  before  me,  and  taken  my  paddle  in  hand,  with  which 
my  long  practice  had  given  me  unlimited  confidence,  I  put 
off  from  the  shore  to  the  middle  of  the  river,  which  was 
there  a  mile  and  a  half  in  width,  to  meet  the  steamer,  which 
was  stemming  the  opposing  torrent,  and  slowly  moving  up 
the  rapids.  I  made  my  signal  as  I  neared  the  steamer,  and 
desired  my  old  friend  Captain  Eogers,  not  to  stop  his 
engine;  feeling  full  confidence  that  I  could,  with  an  Indian 
touch  of  the  paddle,  toss  my  little  bark  around,  and  gently 
grapple  to  the  side  of  the  steamer,  which  was  loaded  down, 
with  her  gunnels  near  to  the  waters'  edge.    Oh,  that  my 


naany  o! 
es.    ^e 
riBg  tbat 
oi  Joe'a 
a  portrait 
javing  tTio 
louston  in 
my  recent 
oe  exceed- 

hrougli  t\ie 
ationed,  and 
is,  I  dragged 
talme,fora 
,xithalfoft\ie 
•rals,  vfVic\i  1 
^o  get  on  t^e 
to  Canap  Des 

•e  andwaitii^g) 
'•al  miles  Wow 

le  interim  I  set 

noble  pair  of 

ly  side,  tbrougli 

and  baving  p^t 

'e  bottom  of  the 

and,v.itbv^liic\i 

5on&dence,Ip^t 

•iver,  v^bielx  ^vas 

,e  steamer,  ^vh;ch 

^owly  tnoving  up 

tte  steamer,  and 

not  to  stop  ^« 

la  with  an  Jnd'«« 

ound,  and  gently 

Las  loaded  doN^n, 

'  e.    Ob,  that  my 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


625 


skill  had  been  equal  to  my  imagination,  or  that  I  could 
have  had  at  that  moment  the  balanee  and  the  skill  of  an 
Indian  woman^  for  the  sake  of  my  little  craft  and  what  was 
in  it!  I  had  brought  it  aiboutj  with  a  master  hand,  however, 
but  the  waves  of  the  rapids  and  the  foaming  of  the  waters 
by  her  sides  were  too  much  for  my  peaceable  adhesion,  and 
at  the  moment  of  wheeling,  to  part  company  with  her,  a 
line,  with  a  sort  of  "  laso  throw,"  came  from  an  awkward 
hand  on  the  de  ,£,  and  falling  over  my  shoulder  and  around 
the  end  of  my  canoe,  with  a  simultaneous  "  haul"  to  it,  sent 
me  down  head  foremost  to  the  bottom  of  the  river ;  where 
I  was  tumbling  along  with  the  rapid  current  over  the  huge 
rocks  on  the  bottom,  whilst  my  gun  and  pistols,  which 
were  emptied  from  my  capsized  boat,  were  taking  their 
permanent  position  amongst  the  rocks;   and  my  trunk, 
containing  my  notes  of  travel  for  several  years,  and  many 
other  valuable  things,  was  floating  off  upon  the  surface. 
If  I  had  drowned,  my  death  would  have  been  witnessed  by 
at  least  an  hundred  ladies  and  gentlemen  who  were  looking 
on,  but  I  did  not.    I  soon  took  a  peep,  by  the  side  of  my 
trunk,  &c.,  above  the  water,  and  for  the  first  time  in  my 
life  was  "  collared,"  and  that  by  my  friend  Captain  Eogers, 
who  undoubtedly  saved  mo  from  making  further  explora- 
tions on  the  river  bottom,  by  pulling  me  into  the  boat,  to 
the  amusement  of  all  on  deck,  many  of  whom  were  my  old 
acquaintances,  and  not  knowing  the  preliminaries,  were  as 
much  astounded  at  my  sudden  appearance,  as  if  I  had  been 
disgorged  from  a  whale's  belly.    A  small  boat  was  sent  off 
for  my  trunk,  which  was  picked  up  about  half  a  mile  below 
and  brought  on  board  full  of  water,  and  consequently, 
clothes,  and  sketch-books  and  everything  else  entirely  wet 
through.    My  canoe  was  brought  on  board,  which  was 
several  degrees  dearer  to  me  now  than  it  had  been  for  its 
long  and  faithful  service ;  but  my  gun  and  pistols  are  there 
yet,  and  at  the  service  of  the  lucky  one  who  may  find 
them.    I  remained  on  board  for  several  miles,  till  we  were 
passing  a  wild  and  romantic  rocky  shore,  on  which  the  sun 

40 


i  ! 


626 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


was  shining  warm,  and  I  launched  my  little  boat  into  the 
water,  with  my  trunk  in  it  and  put  off  to  the  shore,  where 
I  soon  had  every  paper  and  a  hundred  other  things  spread 
in  the  sun,  and  at  night  in  good  order  for  my  camp,  which 
was  at  the  mouth  of  a  quiet  little  brook,  vhere  I  caught 
some  fine  bass  and  fared  well,  till  a  ccuple  of  hours' 
paddling  the  next  morning  brought  ra  ■  back  to  Camp  Des 
Moines." 

Here  my  friend  Joe  laugheu  jxcessively,  but  said  not  a 
word,  as  I  kept  on  painting — and  told  him  also,  that  a  few 
days  afber  this,  I  put  my  little  canoe  on  the  deck  of  a 
steamer  ascending  the  river,  and  landed  at  Bock  Island, 
ninety  miles  above,  on  some  business  with  General  Street, 
the  Indian  Agent — after  which  I  *'  put  off"  in  my  little 
bark,  descending  the  river  alone,  to  Camp  Des  Moines, 
with  a  fine  double-barrelled  fowling-piece,  which  I  had 
purchased  at  the  garrison,  lying  in  the  canoe  before  me  as 
the  means  of  procuring  wild  fowl,  and  other  food  on  my 
passage.  "  Egad  I"  said  Joe,  "  how  I  should  like  to  have 
been  with  you  1"  "  Sit  still,"  said  I,  "  or  I  shall  lose  your 
likeness."    So  Joe  kept  his  position,  and  I  proceeded : 

'*  I  left  Bock  Island  about  eleven  o'clock  in  the  morninff. 

Of 

and  at  half-past  three  on  a  pleasant  afternoon,  in  the  cool 
month  of  October,  run  my  canoe  to  the  shore  of  Mascotin 
Island,  where  I  stepped  out  upon  its  beautiful  pebbly 
beach,  with  my  paddle  in  my  hand,  having  drawn  the  bow 
of  my  canoe,  as  usual,  on  to  the  beach,  so  as  to  hold  it  in 
its  place.  This  beautiful  island,  so  called  from  a  band  of 
the  Illinois  Indians  of  that  name,  who  once  dwelt  upon  it, 
is  twenty-five  or  thirty  miles  in  length,  without  habitation 
on  or  in  sight  of  it,  and  the  whole  way  one  extended  and 
lovely  prairie;  with  high  banks  fronting  the  river,  and 
extending  back  a  great  way,  covered  with  a  high  and 
luxuriant  growth  of  grass.  To  the  top  of  this  bank  I  went 
with  my  paddle  in  my  hand,  quite  innocently,  just  to  range 
my  eye  over  its  surface,  and  to  see  what  might  be  seen ; 
when,  in  a  mmute  or  two,  I  turned  towards  the  river,  and, 


,  lulo  tbe 
re,  wbero 
tgs  spread 
up,  wbiob 
e  I  caugTit 
of  hours' 
I  Camp  Dea 

t  said  not  a 

),  tbat  a  few 

J  deck  of  a 

lock  Hand, 

neral  Street, 

I  in  my  little 
pes  Moines, 

Y,bicli  1  bad 

)  before  me  as 

jr  food  on  my 

I  like  to  have 

ihaU  lose  your 

)roceeded: 

m  the  morning, 

ton,  in  the  cool 

[re  of  Masco-tin 
iautiful  pehWy 
drawn  the  how 

las  to  hold  it  in 
1  from  a  band  of 
e  dwelt  upon  it, 
thout  habitation 
\e  extended  and 
the  river,  and 
ath  a  high  and 
this  bank  I  went 

itly,  jvist  to  range 
,  might  be  seen-, 
•ds  the  river,  and, 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


627 


to  my  almost  annihilating  surprise  and  vexation,  I  saw  my 
little  canoe  some  twenty  or  thirty  rods  from  the  shore,  and 
some  distance  below  me,  with  its  head  aiming  across  the 
river,  and  steadily  gliding  along  in  tbat  direction,  where 
the  wind  was  roguishly  wafting  it  1   What  little  swearing  I 
had  learned  in  the  whole  of  my  dealings  with  the  civilized 
world,  seemed  then  to  concentrate  in  two  or  three  involun- 
tary exclamations,  which  exploded  as  I  was  running  down 
the  beach,  and  throwing  off  my  garments  one  after  the 
other,  till  I  was  denuded — and  dashing  through  the  deep 
and  boiling  current  in  pursuit  of  it,  I  swam  some  thirty 
rods  in  a  desperate  rage,  resolving  that  this  must  be  my 
remedy,  as  there  was  no  other  mode ;  but  at  last  found,  to 
my  great  mortification  and  alarm,  that  the  canoe,  having 
got  so  far  from  the  shore,  was  more  in  the  wind,  and 
travelling  at  a  speed  quite  equal  to  my  own ;  so  that  the 
only  safe  alternative  was  to  turn  and  make  for  the  shore 
with  all  possible  despatch.    This  I  did — and  had  but  just 
strength  to  bring  me  where  my  feet  could  reach  the  bottom, 
and  I  waded  out  with  the  appalling  conviction,  iliat  if  I 
had  swam  one  rod  farther  into  the  stream,  my  strength 
would  never  have  brought  me  to  the  shore ;  for  it  was  in 
the  fall  of  the  year,  and  the  water  so  cold  as  completely  to 
have  benumbed  me,  and  paralyzed  my  limbs.    I  hastened 
to  pick  up  my  clothes,  which  were  dropped  at  intervals  as 
I  had  run  on  the  beach,  and  having  adjusted  them  on  my 
shivering  limbs,  I  stepped  to  the  top  of  the  bank,  and  took 
a  deliberate  view  of  my  little  canoe,  which  was  steadily 
making  its  way  to  the  other  shore — with  my  gun,  with  my 
provisions  and  fire  apparatus,  and  sleeping  apparel,  all 
snugly  packed  in  it. 

"The  river  at  that  place  is  near  a  mile  wide;  and  I 
watched  the  mischievous  thing  till  it  ran  quite  into  a  bunch 
of  willows  on  the  opposite  shore,  and  out  of  sight, 
walked  the  shore  awhile,  alone  and  solitary  as  a  Zealand 
penguin,  when  I  at  last  sat  down,  and  in  one  minute  passed 
the  following  resolves  from  premises  that  were  before  me, 


^^.-IJkl 


ft.  •■>  r.i 


t\ 


4.  *** 


I, 
% 

i 


I  1  v 


628 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  OX  THE 


and  ti)o  imperative  to  be  evaded  or  unappreciated.  '  I  am 
lierc  on  a  desolate  i inland,  with  nothing  to  eat,  and  destitute 
of  the  means  of  procuring  anything;  and  if  I  pass  the 
night,  or  half  a  dozen  of  them  here,  I  shall  have  neither 
fire  nor  clothes  to  make  me  comfortable ;  and  nothing  short 
of  having  my  canoe  will  answer  me  at  all.'  For  this,  the 
only  alternative  struck  me,  and  I  soon  commenced  upon  it. 
An  occasional  log  or  limb  of  drift  wood  was  to  be  seen 
fl.long  the  beach  and  under  the  bank,  and  these  I  com- 
menced bringing  togc'har  from  all  quarters,  and  some  I 
Lad  to  lug  half  a  mile  or  more,  to  form  a  raft  to  float  me 
up  and  carry  me  across  the  river.  As  there  was  a  great 
scarcity  of  materials,  and  I  had  no  hatchet  to  cut  anything; 
I  had  to  use  my  scanty  materials  of  all  lengths  and  of  all 
sizes  and  all  shapes,  and  at  length  ventured  upon  the  motley 
mass,  with  paddle  in  hand,  and  carefully  shoved  it  off  from 
the  shore,  finding  it  just  sufficient  to  float  me  up.  I  took  a 
seat  in  its  centre  on  a  bunch  of  barks  which  I  had  placed 
for  a  seat,  and  which,  when  I  started,  kept  me  a  few  inches 
above  the  water,  and  consequeiitly  dry,  whilst  my  feet  were 
resting  on  the  raft,  which  in  most  parts  was  sunk  a  little 
below  the  surface.  The  only  alternative  was  to  go,  for 
there  was  no  more  timber  to  be  found;  so  I  balanced 
myself  in  the  middle,  and  by  reaching  forward  with  my 
paddle,  to  a  little  space  between  the  timbers  of  my  raft,  I 
had  a  small  place  to  dip  it,  and  the  only  one,  in  which  I 
could  make  but  a  feeble  stroke — propelling  me  at  a  very 
slow  rate;  across,  as  I  was  floating  rapidly  doum  the  current. 
I  sat  still  and  worked  patiently,  howev*  r,  content  with  the 
little  gain;  and  at  last  reached  the  opposite  shore  about 
thi'ce  miles  below  the  place  of  my  embarkation;  iiaving 
passed  close  by  several  huge  snags,  which  I  was  lucky 
enough  to  escape,  without  the  power  of  having  cleared 
them  except  by  kind  accident. 

"My  craft  was  ' unseaworthy '  when  I  started,  and  when 
I  had  got  to  the  middle  of  the  river,  owing  to  the  rotten 
wood,  with  which  a  g'^eat  part  of  it  was  made,  and  which 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


629 


•  I  am 

destitute 

pass  the 

re  neither 

hing  s^o'^ 
,r  this,  tbe 
ed  upon  it. 
to  be  seen 
ese  I  com- 
and  some  I 
to  float  me 
vras  a  great 
lUt  anything; 
ba  and  of  all 
on  the  motley 
red  it  off  from 
up.    I  took  a 
1 1  bad  placed 
io  a  few  incbes 
^t  my  feet  were 
«  sunk  a  bttle 

was  to  go,  fe^ 
go  I  balanced 

,.v,ard  witb  my 
.ra  of  my  raft,  I 
one,in^vbicbl 
g  me  at  a  very 
Lt;n  tbe  current. 
Untentwitbtbe 
site  sbore  about 
Lrkation-,  uavmg 
Lb  1  was  lucky 
f  liaving  cleared 


had  now  become  saturated  with  water,  it  had  sunk  entirely 
under  the  surface,  letting  me  down  nearly  to  the  waist,  ia 
the  water.  In  this  critical  way  I  moved  slowly  along, 
keeping  the  sticks  together  under  me ;  and  at  last,  when  I 
reached  the  shore,  some  of  the  long  and  awkward  limbs 
projecting  from  my  raft,  having  '^eached  it  before  me,  and 
being  suddenly  resisted  by  the  bank,  gave  the  instant 
signal  for  its  dissolution,  and  my  sudden  debarkation, 
when  I  gave  one  grand  leap  in  the  direction  of  the  bank, 
yet  some  yards  short  of  it,  and  into  the  water,  from  head  to 
foot ;  but  soon  crawled  out,  and  wended  my  way  a  mile  or 
two  up  the  shore,  where  I  found  my  canoe  snugly  and 
safely  moored  in  the  willows,  where  I  stepped  into  it,  and 
paddled  back  to  the  island,  and  to  the  same  spot  where  my 
misfortunes  commenced,  to  enjoy  the  pleasure  of  exulta- 
tions, which  were  to  flow  from  contrasting  my  present  with 
my  former  situation. 

"  Thus,  the  Island  of  Mas-co-tin  soon  lost  its  horrors,  and 
I  strolled  two  days  and  encamped  two  nightb  upon  its 
silent  shores — with  prairie  hens  and  wild  fowl  in  abun- 
dance for  my  meals.  From  this  lovely  ground,  which 
shews  the  peaceful  graves  of  hundreds  of  red  men,  who 
have  visited  it  before  me,  I  paddled  off  in  my  light  bark, 
and  said,  as  I  looked  back,  '  Sleep  there  in  peace,  ye  brave 
fellows  I  until  the  sacrilegious  hands  of  white  man,  and  the 
unsympathising  ploughshare  shall  turn  thy  bones  from 
their  quiet  and  beautiful  resting  place  I' 

"  Two  or  three  days  of  strolling,  brought  me  again  to  the 
Camp  Des  Moines,  and  from  thence,  with  my  favorite  little 
Dark  canoe,  placed  upon  the  deck  of  the  steamer,  I  em- 
Darked  for  St.  Louis,  where  I  arrived  in  good  order,  and 
soon  found  the  way  to  the  comfortable  quarters  from 
whence  I  am  now  writing." 

When  I  finished  telling  this  story  to  Joe,  his  portrait 
was  done,  and  I  rejoiced  to  find  that  I  had  given  to  it  all 
the  fire  and  all  the  game  look  that  had  become  so  familiar 


if  ij  ■  V  - 


680 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


and  pleasing  to  mo  in  our  numerous  rambles  in  the  far 
distant  wilds  of  our  former  campaigns.^ 

When  I  had  landed  from  the  steamer  Warrior,  at  the 
wharf,  I  Icfl  all  other  considerations  to  hasten  and  report 
myself  to  my  dear  wife,  leoving  my  little  canoe  on  deck 
and  in  the  especial  charge  of  the  Captain,  till  I  should 
return  for  it  in  the  afternoon,  and  remove  it  to  safe  storage 
with  my  other  Indian  articles,  to  form  an  interesting  part 
of  my  Museum.  On  my  return  to  the  steamer  it  was 
" missing"  and  like  one  that  I  have  named  on  a  former 
occasion,  by  some  medicine  operation,  for  ever  severed  from 
my  sight,  though  not  from  my  recollections,  where  it  will 
long  remain,  and  also  in  a  likeness  which  I  made  of  it  just 
after  the  trick  it  played  mo  on  the  shore  of  the  Mas-co-tia 
Island. 

After  I  had  finished  the  likeness  of  my  friend  Joe,  and 
had  told  him  the  two  stories,  I  sat  down  and  wrote  thus  in 
my  note-book,  and  now  copy  it  into  my  Letter : — 

The  West— not  the  "  Far  West,"  for  that  is  a  phantom, 
travelling  on  its  tireless  wing :  but  the  West^  the  simple 
West — the  vast  and  vacant  wilds  which  lie  between  the 
trodden  haunts  of  present  savage  and  civil  life — the  great 
and  almost  boundless  garden-spot  of  earth  1  This  is  the 
theme  at  present.  The  "antres  vast  and  deserts  idle," 
where  the  tomahawk  sleeps  with  the  bones  of  the  savage, 
as  yet  untouched  by  the  trespassing  ploughshare — the  pic- 
tured land  of  silence,  which,  in  its  melancholy  alternately 
echoes  backward  and  forward  the  plaintive  yells  of  the 
vanished  red  men,  and  the  busy  chaunts  of  the  approach- 
ing pioneers.  I  speak  of  the  boundless  plains  of  beauty, 
and  Nature's  richest  livery,  where  the  waters  of  the  ''  great 


*  Poor  Chadwick !  a  few  days  after  the  above  occasion,  he  sent  his 
portrait  to  his  mother,  and  started  for  Texas,  where  ho  joined  the  Texan 
army,  with  a  commission  from  Oovemor  Houston  ;  was  taken  prisoner 
in  the  first  battle  that  he  fought,  and  was  amongst  the  four  hundred 
prisoners  who  were  shot  down  in  cold  blood  by  the  order  of  Saota 
Anna. 


J\ 


I  t\ie  fat 

3T,  at  tVie 
nd  report 
)  on  deck 
1  should 
afe  storage 
csting  par<i 
tier  it  "waa 
,n  a  former 
Qvered  from 
/here  it  vriU 
ide  of  it  just 
le  Maa-co-tin 

Lend  Joe,  and 
wrote  thua  in 

;r;— 

is  a  pliantom, 
est,  tbe  simplo 
3  between  the 
l^fe— the  great 
I    This  ia  the 
deaerta  idle," 
of  the  savage, 
share— the  pic- 
Woly  alternately 
[ve  yella  of  the 
jf  the  approach- 
jlaina  of  beauty, 
jrs  of  the  "  great 


NORTH   AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


681 


deep "  parted  in  peace,  and  gracefully  passed  off  without 
leaving  deformity  behind  them.    Over  whoso  green,  enam- 
elled fields,  as  boundless  and  free  as  the  ocean's  wave, 
Nature's  proudest,  noblest  men  have  pranced  on  their  wild 
horses,  and  extended,  through  a  series  of  ages,  their  strong 
arms  in  orisons  of  praise  and  gratitude  to  the  Great  Spirit 
in  the  sun,  for  the  freedom  and  happiness  of  their  existence. 
— The  land  that  was  beautiful  and  famed,  but  had  no 
chronicler  to  toll — where,  while  "civilized,"  was  yet  in 
embryo,  dwelt  the  valiant  and  the  byave,  whose  deeds  of 
chivalry  and  honor  have  passed  away  like  themselves, 
unembalmed  and  untold — where  the  plumed  war-horse  has 
pranced  in  time  with  the  shrill  sounding  war-cry,  and  the 
eagle  calumet  as  oft  sent  solemn  and  mutual  pledges  in 
fumes  to  the  skies.    I  speak  of  the  neutral  ground  (for  such 
it  may  be  called),  where  the  smoke  of  the  wigwam  is  no 
longer  seen,  but  the  bleaching  bones  of  the  buffaloes,  and 
the  graves  of  the  savage,  tell  the  story  of  times  and  days 
that  are  passed — the  land  of  stillness,  on  which  the  rod 
man  now  occasionally  re-treads  in  sullen  contemplation, 
amid  the  graves  of  his  fathers,  and  over  which  civilized 
man  advances,  filled  with  joy  and  gladness. 

Such  is  the  great  valley  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri, 
over  almost  every  part  of  which  I  have  extended  my  tra- 
vels, and  of  which  and  of  its  future  wealth  and  improve- 
ments, I  have  had  sublime  contemplations. 

I  have  viewed  man  in  the  artless  and  innocent  simplicity 
of  nature,  in  the  ftiU  enjoyment  of  the  luxuries  which  God 
had  bestowed  upon  him.  I  have  seen  him  happier  than 
kings  or  princes  can  be ;  with  his  pipe  and  little  ones  about 
himi.  I  have  seen  him  shrinking  from  civilized  approach, 
which  came  with  all  ita  vices,  like  the  dead  of  night,  upon 
him:  I  have  seen  raised,  too,  in  that  darkness,  religion's 
torch,  and  seen  him  gaze  and  then  retreat  like  the  fright- 
ened deer,  that  are  blinded  by  the  light ;  I  have  seen  him 
shrinking  from  the  soil  and  haunts  of  his  boyhood,  bursting 
the  strongest  ties  which  bound  him  to  the  earth,  and  its 


I* 


..»  1 


mm 

i 


Mfr 


n 


•   -:^ 


I,ETr.BS  ASK  Nom  OS  THE 

v;™  .wt  fire  to  his  wigwam,  anA 
pleasures;  I  have  seen  ^""  .^-^.^ .t  feve  seen  him  (His 
smooth  over  the  f '^^%f  ^^^^  tCm),  with  tears  of  grief 
the  OBly  thing  that  f  > '^™|if  ^i  i„  sUence  over  his 

sliding  over  his  f  «f  '  ^^^^^r  Us  fair  hnnting-gronnds, 
month,  and  take  the  WW  over  h  ^^     ^ 

<,„d  turn  his  f«»";^f^';^;,,s  silent  dignity  and  grace, 
have  seen  performed  -"  NaM^e  ^^  „isf„rtnne 

«Weh  forsook  "^  ^"^■»*;  often,  the  approach  of  the 
and  despair;  »i*  ^  """^  ?^  ,,;„„  i,„r,pinit,  elated  and  ex- 
bustling,  husy,  taltog, -^f -f  •  l^l,';^,  ploughshare, 
ulting  white  man,  with  the  ors      V  ^^  ^^^  ^^^.^^^ 

making  -'*S'»"\rE!  Ae^,  and  the  tcnaka^k 
dead.  1  have  s-"*^  *  '  *  i"r;ogations  which  the 
jiso  from  the  ground  '■^Sf"'  ,„„er.    I  have  seen 

sophistry  of  the  world  oan  je"^  ^  irresistible 

thus,  in  an  its  forms  »"~;';  *„'  S,is  splendid  Jngger- 
„„ch  of  ""i^^""™.  UHs  sweeping  desolation;  and 
naut  rolling  on,  .''f  ^f  ™ J  ^ousands,  living,  as  yet, 
enaTts"Sfl::V':-^i;^.notheen  crushea,nor  yet 

contemplated  with  «;Xltvlt,  which  will  inevita- 
approach  of  this  ovorwhelm.ng  sy^^t     ,  ^^^^,  ^^^^ 

lly  march  on  and  prf  PJ^'""'  'jH^a  from  the  toweriag 
witercd  every  rod  of  th.  f=«  1-* .  »  ^^^  ^^^^^  „„  „„ 
cllfiS  of  the  Bocky  Mountams  tne  ^  ^^^  i„i„i,aUe  hunting- 
back  his  swollen  eye,  over  ti  ^^^^^  contemplate 

rrciituXirth"  "s  of  barthagc,  their  splead,d 

^t"tthevaste.,anse.— .^^^^^^^ 

„en  are  at  this  t,me  "paij  ™»*  f^^^^^  allurements, 
„oAmcr-«a*wh.ch.sfollowugtheJ^^^  ^^  ^^^^^^ 

and  stocking  "'"-"y^'^'a  0,0  "Valley  of  the  Missis. 

rp;t:hte:r~::tmutahiew^^^ 


^am,  and 
him  ('tis 

of  grief 
over  his 
-grounds, 
AH  this  I 
,nd  grace, 
iiisfortune 
ach  of  the 
>d  and  ex- 
.oughshare, 
the  valiant 
3  tomahawk 
3  which  the 

have  seen 
I  irresistible 
idid  Jugger- 
olation;  and 
iring,  as  yet, 
shed,  nor  yet 

1  people,  and 
t,  the  certain 
h.  will  inevita- 
vrs  shall  have 
a  the  towering 
ivagc  will  turn 
itable  hunting- 
ro  contemplate 
their  splendid 

which  Nature's 
'ing  way  to  the 
md  allurements, 
of  green  fields. 
cy  of  the  Missis- 
)arricr3  on  eilber 


NORTH    A.MERICAN  INDIAN3 


633 


side,  the  Alleghany  and  Rocky  Mountains ;  with  the  Gulf 
of  Mexico  on  the  South,  and  the  great  string  of  lakes  on 
the  North,  and  the  mighty  Mississippi  rolling  its  turbid 
waters  through  it,  for  the  distance  of  four  thousand  miles, 
receiving  its  hundred  tributaries,  whose  banks  aud  plateaus 
are  capable  of  supporting  a  population  of  one  hundred 
millions,  covered  almost  entirely  with  the  richest  soil  in  the 
world,  with  lead,  iron,  and  coal,  sufficent  for  its  population 
— with  twelve  thousand  miles  of  river  navigation  for 
steamers,  within  its  embrace,  besides  the  coast  on  the  South, 
and  the  great  expanse  of  lakes  on  the  North — with  a  popu- 
lation of  five  millions,  already  sprinkled  over  its  nether 
half,  and  a  greater  part  of  the  remainder  of  it,  inviting  the 
world  to  its  possession,  for  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents 
(five  shillings)  per  acre  1 

I  ask,  who  can  contemplate,  without  amazement,  this 
mighty  river  ahne,  eternally  rolling  its  boiling  waters 
through  the  richest  of  soil,  for  the  distance  of  four  thousand 
miles ;  over  three  thousand  five  hundred  of  which,  I  have 
myself  been  wafted  on  mighty  steamers,  ensconced  within 
"  curtains  damasked,  and  carpets  ingrain ; "  and  on  its 
upper  half,  gazed  with  tireless  admiration  upon  its  thousand 
hills  and  mounds  of  grass  and  green,  sloping  down  to  the 
water's  edge,  in  all  the  grace  and  beauty  of  Nature's 
loveliest  fabrication.  On  its  lower  half,  also,  whose  rich 
alluvial  shores  are  studded  with  stately  cotton-wood  and 
elms,  which  echo  back  the  deep  and  hollow  cough  of  the 
puffing  steamers.  I  have  contemplated  the  bed  of  this  vast 
river,  sinking  from  its  natural  surface;  and  the  alligator 
driven  to  its  bosom,  abandoning  his  native  bog  and  fen, 
which  are  drying  and  growing  into  beauty  and  loveliness 
under  the  hand  of  the  husbandman. 

I  have  contemplated  these  boundless  forests  melting 
away  before  the  fatal  axe,  until  the  expanded  waters  of  this 
yast  channel,  and  its  countless  tributaries,  will  yield  their 
surplus  to  the  thirsty  sunbeam,  to  which  their  shorn  banks 
will  expose  them ;  and  I  have  contemplated,  also,  the  never- 


634 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


ending  transit,  of  steamers,  ploughing  up  the  sand  and 
deposit  from  j  bottom,  which  its  turbid  waters  are  eternally 
hurrying  on  to  the  ocean,  sinking  its  channel,  and  thereby 
raising  its  surrounding  alluvions  for  the  temptations  and 
enjoyment  of  man. 

All  this  is  certain.  Man's  increase,  and  the  march  of 
human  improvements  in  this  New  World,  are  as  true  and 
irresistible  as  the  laws  of  nature,  and  he  who  could  rise  from 
his  grave  and  speak,  or  would  speak  from  the  life  some 
half  century  from  this,  would  proclaim  my  prophecy  true 
and  fulfilled.  I  said  above,  (and  I  again  say  it,)  that  these 
are  subjects  for  "  sublime  contemplation  1"  At  all  events 
they  are  so  to  the  traveller,  who  has  wandered  over  and 
seen  this  vast  subject  in  all  its  parts,  and  able  to  appreciate 
— who  has  seen  the  frightened  herds,  as  well  as  multitudes 
of  hicman,  giving  way  and  shrinking  from  the  mountain 
wave  of  civilization,  which  is  busily  rolling  on  behind  them. 

From  Maine  to  Florida  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  the  fore- 
fathers of  those  hardy  sons  who  are  now  stocking  this  fair 
land,  have,  from  necessity,  in  a  hard  and  stubborn  soil, 
inured  their  hands  to  labor,  and  their  habits  and  taste  of 
life  to  sobriety  and  economy,  which  will  ensure  them  success 
in  the  new  world. 

This  rich  country  which  is  now  alluring  the  enterprisinf^ 
young  men  from  the  East,  being  commensurate  with  the 
whole  Atlantic  States,  holds  out  the  extraordinary  induce- 
ment that  every  emigrant  can  enjoy  a  richer  soil,  and  that 
too  in  his  own  native  latitude.  The  sugar  planter,  the  rice, 
cotton,  and  tobacco  growers — corn,  rye,  and  wheat  pro- 
ducers, from  Louisiana  to  Montreal,  have  only  to  turn  their 
faces  to  the  West,  and  there  are  waiting  for  them  tho  same 
atmosphere  to  breathe,  and  green  fields  already  cleared, 
and  ready  for  the  plough,  too  tempting  to  be  overlooked  or 
neglected. 

As  far  west  as  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi,  the  great 
wave  of  emigration  has  rolled  or,  and  already  in  its  rear 
tho  valley  is  sprinkled  with  towns  and  cities,  with  their 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


635 


sand  and 
!  eternally 
d  thereby 
itions  and 

marcli  of 
13  true  and 
id  rise  from 
,e  life  some 
opliecy  true 
,)  that  these 
.t  all  events 
ed  over  and 
to  appreciate 
as  multituiks 
;he  mountain 
behind  them, 
oast,  the  fore- 
sking  this  fair 
stubborn  soil, 
,s  and  taste  of 
•e  them  success 


Issippi,  the  great 
(ready  in  its  roar 
Icities,  with  their 


thousand  spires  pointing  to  the  skies.  For  several  hundred 
miles  west,  also  have  the  daring  pioneers  ventured  their 
lives  and  fortunes,  with  their  families,  testing  the  means 
and  luxuries  of  life,  which  nature  has  set  before  them ;  in 
the  country  where  the  buried  tomahawk  is  scarce  rusted, 
and  the  war-cry  has  scarcely  died  on  the  winds.  Among 
these  people  have  I  roamed.  On  the  Eed  River  I  have  seen 
the  rich  Louisianian  chequering  out  his  cotton  and  sugar 
plantations,  where  the  sunbeam  could  be  seen  reflected  from 
the  glistening  pates  of  his  hundred  negroes,  making  first 
trespass  with  the  hoe.  I  have  sat  with  him  at  his  hospitable 
table  in  his  log  cabin,  sipping  sherry  and  champagne.  He 
talks  of  ^^hogshedda  and  price  of  stocks"  or  "goes  in  for 
cotton." 

In  the  western  parts  of  Arkansas  or  Missouri,  I  have 
shared  the  genuine  cottage  hospitality  of  the  abrupt,  yet 
polite  and  honorable  Kentuckian ;  the  easy,  affable  and 
sociable  Tennesseean  ;  this  has  "  a  smart  chance  of  corn ;" 
the  other,  perhaps  "a  power  of  cotton;"  and  then  occa- 
sionally, (from  the  "  Old  Dominion,")  "  I  reckon  I  shall  have 
a  mighty  heap  of  tobacco  this  season,'  &,c. 

Boys  in  this  country  are  ^^peart^*  fever  and  ague  renders 
one  ^^ powerful  weak"  and  someti.nes  it  is  almost  impoi-'-i'L-'e 
to  get  "  shet "  of  it.  Intelligence,  Li..;,  -tality,  and  good  cheer 
reign  under  all  of  these  humble  roo^-.,  and  tre  traveller  who 
knows  how  to  appreciate  those  thiigi,  with  a  good  cup  of 
coffee,  ^^com*  bread,"  and  fresh  butter,  can  easily  enjoy 
moments  of  bliss  in  converse  v,:th  the  humu'o  pioneer. 

On  the  upper  Mississippi  aud  Missouri,  for  the  distance 
of  seven  or  eight  hundred  miles  above  St.  Louis,  ia  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  champaign  countries  in  the  world, 
continually  alternating  into  timber  and  fields  of  the  softest 
green,  calculated,  from  its  latitude,  for  the  people  of  the 
northern  and  eastern  states,  and  "Jonathan"  is  already 
here — and  almost  everybody  else  from  "do.vn  East" — 
with  fences  of  white,  drawn  and  drawing,  like  chalk  lines, 

*  Maize. 


636 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


over  the  green  prairie.  "  By  gosh,  this  'ere  ia  the  biggest 
clerin'I  ever  see."  "I  expect  we  had'nt  ought  to  raise 
nothin'  but  wheat  and  rye  here." — "  I  guess  you've  come 
arter  land,  ha'nt  you?" 

Such  is  the  character  of  this  vast  country,  and  such  the 
manner  in  which  it  is  filled  up,  with  people  from  all  parts, 
tracing  their  own  latitudes,  and  carrying  with  them  their 
local  peculiarities  and  prejudices.  The  mighty  Mississippi, 
nowever,  the  great  and  everlasting  highway  on  which  these 
people  are  for  ever  to  intermingle  their  interests  and 
manners,  will  effectually  soften  down  those  prejudices 
and  eventually  result  in  an  amalgamation  of  feelings  and 
customs,  from  which  this  huge  ma  js  of  population  wiU  take 
one  new  and  general  appellation. 

It  is  here  that  the  true  character  of  the  American  is  to  be 
formed — here  where  the  peculiarities  and  incongruities 
which  detract  from  his  true  character  are  surrenderd  for  the 
free,  yet  lofty  principle  that  strikes  between  meanness  and 
prodigality — between  literal  democraaj  and  aristocracy — 
between  low  cunning  and  selfengendered  ingenuousness. 
Such  will  be  found  to  be  the  true  character  of  the  Americans 
when  jostled  awhile  together,  until  their  local  angles  are 
worn  off;  and  such  may  be  found,  and  already  pretty  well 
formed,  in  the  genuine  Kentuokian,  the  first  brave  and 
daring  pioneer  of  the  great  West ;  he  is  the  true  model  of 
an  American — the  nucleus  around  which  the  character  must 
form,  and  from  which  it  is  to  emanate  to  the  world.  This 
is  the  man  who  first  relinquished  the  foibles  and  fiishions 
of  Eastern  life,  trailing  his  rifle  into  the  forest  of  the 
Mississippi,  taking  simple  Nature  for  his  guide.  From 
necessity  (as  well  as  by  nature),  bold  and  intrepid,  with  the 
fixed  and  unfaltering  brow  of  integrity,  and  a  hand  wliose 
very  grip  (without  words)  tells  you  welcome. 

And  yet,  many  people  of  the  East  object  to  the  Mis- 
sissippi, "  that  it  is  too  far  off— is  out  of  the  world."  But 
how  strange  and  insufficient  is  such  an  objection  to  the 
traveller  who  has  seen  and  enjoyed  its  hospitality,  and  reluc- 


is  fhe  biggest 
ught  to  raise 
1  you've  come 

and  sucli  tlie 
from  all  parts, 
rith.  them  their 
bty  Mississippi, 
on  which  these 
:  interests  and 
ose  prejudices, 

of  feelings  and 
ulation  will  take 

American  is  to  be 
nd  incongruities 
arrenderd  for  the 
icn  meanness  and 
and  aristocracy— 
=;d  ingenuousness, 
of  the  Americans 
•  local  angles  are 
Aready  pretty  well 
3  first  brave  and 
the  true  model  of 
the  character  must 
3  the  world.    This 
bibles  and  fashions 
the  forest  of  the 
his   guide.    From 
id  intrepid,  with  the 
and  a  hand  whose 

come. 

object  to  the  Mis- 
of  the  world."    But 

an  objection  to  the 
lospitality.andreluc. 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


687 


tantly  retreats  from  it  with  feelings  of  regret ;  pronoun- 
cing ir  a  "  world  of  itself,  equal  in  luxuries  and  amuse- 
ments to  any  other."  How  weak  is  such  an  objection 
to  him  who  has  ascended  the  Upper  Mississippi  to  the  Fall 
of  St.  A  thony,  traversed  the  States  of  Missouri,  Illinois,  and 
Michig.  1 ,  and  territory  of  Ouisconsin ;  over  all  of  which 
nature  1  is  spread  her  green  fields,  smiling  and  tempting  man 
to  ornai  ent  with  painted  house  and  fence,  with  prancing 
steed  am  tasseled  carriage — with  countless  villages,  silvered 
spires  au  1  domes,  denoting  march  of  intellect  and  wealth's 
refinement !  The  sun  is  sure  to  look  upon  these  scenes,  and 
we,  perhaps,  "  may  liear  the  tinkling  from  our  graves." 
Adieu. 


fcti» 


ll 


I 


['Iff:' 

p  11  ill  I; 


LETTER  No.  LIV. 

RED  PIPE-STONE  QUARRY,  COTEAU  DES  PRAIRIES. 

The  reader  who  would  follow  me  from  the  place  where 
my  last  epistle  was  written,  to  where  I  now  am,  must  needs 
start,  as  I  did,  from  St.  Louis,  and  cross  the  Alleghany 
mountiiins,  to  my  own  native  state;  where  I  left  my  wife 
with  my  parents,  and  wended  my  way  to  Buffalo,  on  Lake 
jjlrie,  \vhere  I  deposited  my  Collection ;  and  from  thence 
trace,  as  I  did,  fl  >,  zigzag  course  of  the  Lakes,  from  Buffalo 
to  Detroit — to  the  Sault  de  St.  Mary's — to  Mackinaw— to 
Green  Bay,  and  thence  the  tortuous  windings  of  the  Fox 
end  Ouisconsin  Rivers,  to  Prairie  du  Chien;  and  then  the 
mighty  Mississippi  (fc^r  the  second  time),  to  the  Fall  of  St. 
Anthony — then  the  sluggish  yet  decorated  and  beautiful 
C638J 


\ 


ES  PRAIRIES. 

he  place  where 
am,  must  needs 
the  Alleghany 
5  I  left  my  wife 
iuffalo,  on  Lake 
nd  from  thence 
ces,  from  Buffalo 
0  Mackinaw— to 
iiig3  of  the  Fox 


;n 


and  then  the 
to' the  Fall  of  St. 


ed   and  beautiful 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


639 


St.  Peter's,  towards  its  source ;  and  thence  again  (on  horse- 
back) the  gradually  and  gracefully  rising  terraces  of  the 
shorn,  yet  green  and  carpeted  plains,  denominated  the 
*'  Coteau  des  Prairies'^  (being  the  high  and  dividing  ridge 
between  the  St.  Peter's  and  the  Missouri  Rivers),  where  I 
am  bivouacked,  at  the  "  Eed  Pipe-Stone  Quarry!^  The 
distance  of  such  a  Tour  would  take  the  reader  four  thousand 
miles ;  but  I  save  him  the  troub.  .  by  bringing  him,  in  a 
moment,  on  the  spot. 

This  journey  has  afforded  me  the  opportunity  of  seeing, 
on  my  way,  Mackinaw — the  Sault  de  St.  Mary's,  and  Orem 
Bay — points  which  I  had  not  before  visited ;  and  also  of 
seeing  many  distinguished  Indians  among  the  Chippeways, 
Menomonies  and  Winnebagoes,  whom  I  had  not  before 
painted  or  seen.  t 

I  can  put  the  people  of  the  East  at  rest,  as  to  the  hostile 
aspect  of  this  part  of  the  country,  as  I  have  just  passed 
through  the  midst  of  these  tribes,  as  well  as  of  the  Sioux, 
into  whose  country  I  now  am,  and  can,  without  contradiction, 
assert,  that,  as  far  as  can  be  known,  they  are  generally  well- 
disposed,  and  have  been  so,  towards  the  whites. 

There  have  been  two  companies  of  United  States  dragoons, 
ordered  and  marched  to  Green  Bay,  where  I  saw  them ;  and 
three  companies  of  infantry  from  Prairie  du  Chien  to  Fort 
W  iimebago,  in  anticipation  of  difficulties ;  but  in  all  prO' 
bability,  without  any  real  cause  or  necessity,  for  the  Win- 
nebago chief  answered  the  officer,  who  asked  him  if  they 
wanted  to  fight,  "  that  they  could  not,  had  they  been  so 
disposed ;  for,"  said  he, ''  we  have  no  guns,  no  ammunition, 
nor  anything  to  eat;  and,  what  is  worst  of  all,  one  half  of 
our.  men  are  dying  with  the  small-pox.  If  you  will  give 
us  guns  and  ammunition,  and  pork,  and  flour,  and  feed  and 
take  care  of  our  squaws  and  children,  we  will  fight  you ; 
nevertheless,  we  will  try  to  fight  if  you  want  us  to,  as  it  is." 

There  is,  to  appearance  (and  there  is  no  doubt  of  the 
truth  of  it),  the  most  humble  poverty  and  absolutt  necessity 
for  peaco  among  these  people  at  present,  than  can  possibly 


!  life ' 


^;'  3 


VI 


640 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


be  imagined.  And,  amidst  their  poverty  and  wretchedness, 
the  only  war  that  suggests  itself  to  the  eye  of  the  traveller 
through  their  country,  is  the  war  of  sympathy  and  pity, 
which  wages  in  the  breast  of  a  feeling,  thinking  man. 

The  small-pox,  whose  ravages  have  now  pretty  nearly 
subsided,  has  taken  off  a  great  many  of  the  Winnebagocs 
and  Sioux.  The  famous  Wa-be-sha,  of  the  Sioux,  and 
more  than  half  of  his  band,  have  fallen  victims  to  it  within 
a  few  weeks,  and  the  remainder  of  them,  blackened  with  its 
frightful  distortions,  look  as  if  they  had  just  emerged  from 
the  sulphurous  regions  below.  At  Prairie  du  Chien,  a 
considerable  number  of  the  half  breeds,  and  French  also, 
suflfered  death  by  this  banefbl  disease ;  and  at  that  place  I 
learned  one  fact,  which  may  be  of  service  to  science,  which 
was  this  ;  that  in  all  oftscs  of  vaccination,  which  had  been 
given  several  years  ago,  it  was  an  efficient  protection ;  but 
in  those  cases  where  the  vaccine  had  been  recent  (and  there 
were  many  of  them),  it  had  not  the  effect  to  protect,  and  in 
almost  every  instance  of  such,  death  ensued. 
•  At  the  Sault  do  St.  Mary's  on  Lako  Superior,  I  saw  a 
considerable  number  of  Chippeways,  living  entirely  on 
fish,  which  they  catch  with  great  ease  at  that  place. 

I  need  not  detain  the  reader  a  moment  with  a  descrip- 
tion  of  St.  Mary's,  or  of  the  inimitable  summer's  paradise, 
which  can  always  be  seen  ai.  Mackinaw ;  and  which,  like 
the  other,  has  been  an  hundred  times  described.  I  shall 
probably  have  the  chance  of  seeing  about  three  thousand 
Chippeways  at  the  latter  place  on  my  return  home,  who 
are  to  receive  their  annuities  at  that  time  through  the 
hands  of  Mr.  Schoolcraft,  their  agent. 

I  mentioned  that  the  Chippeways  living  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  Sault,  live  entirely  on  fish  ;  and  it  is  almost  literally 
true  also,  that  the  French,  and  English,  and  Americans, 
who  reside  about  there  live  on  fish,  which  are  caught  in 
the  greatest  abundance  in  the  rapids  at  that  place,  and 
are,  perhaps,  one  of  the  greatest  luxuries  of  the  v/orld. 
The  white-fish,  which  is  in  appearance  much  like  a  salmon, 


NOBTU  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


641 


jliedncBB, 
traveller 
and  pity, 

man* 
ty  nearly 
nnebagoca 
ivoux,  and 
o  it  vrithin 
,ed  witli  its 
jrged  from 
,u  Cliien,  a 
French  also, 
that  place  I 
ience,  vrhich 
ch  had  been 
itection  •,  but 
snt  (and  there 
rotect,  and  in 


though  smaller,  is  the  luxury  I  am  speaking  of,  anu  is 
caught  in  immense  quantities  by  the  scoop-nets  of  the  In- 
dians and  Frenchmen,  amongst  the  foaming  and  dashing 
water  of  the  rapids,  where  it  gains  strength  and  flavor  not 
to  be  found  in  the  same  fish  in  any  other  place.  This  un- 
equalled fishery  has  long  been  one  of  vast  importance  to 
the  immense  numbers  of  Indians  who  have  always  assem- 
bled about  it ;  but  of  late,  has  been  found  by  monei  making 
men,  to  bo  too  valuable  a  spot  for  the  exclusive  oc-;apancy 
of  the  savage,  like  hundreds  of  others,  and  has  at  last  been 
filled  up  with  adventurers,  who  have  dipped  their  nets  till 
the  poor  Indian  is  styled  an  intruder;  and  his  timid  bark 
is  seen  dodging  about  in  the  coves  for  a  scanty  subsistence, 
whilst  he  scans  and  envies  insatiable  white  man  filling  his 
barrels  and  boats,  and  sending  them  to  market  to  be  con- 
verted into  money. 

From  Mackinaw  I  proceeded  to  Green  Bay,  which  is  a 
flourishing  beginning  of  a  town,  in  the  heart  of  a  rich 
country,  and  the  head-quarters  of  land  speculators. 

From  thence,  I  embarked  in  a  large  bark  canoe,  with 
five  French  voyageurs  at  the  oars,  where  happened  to  be 
grouped  and  messed  together,  five  "jolly  companions"  of 
us,  bound  for  Fort  Winnebago  and  the  Mississippi.    All 
our  stores  and  culinary  articles  were  catered  for  by,  and 
bill  rendered  to,  mine  host,  Mr.  C.  Jennings  (quondam  of 
the  city  hotel  in  New  York),  who  was  one  of  our  party, 
and  whom  we  soon  elected  ^^Major"  of  the  expedition ;  and 
shortly  after  promoted  to  ^'CohneV^ — from  the  philosophical 
dignity  and  patience  with  which  he  met  the  difficulties  and 
exposure  which  we  had  to  encounter,  as  well  as  for  his  ex- 
traordinary skill  and  taste  displayed  in  the  culinary  art. 
Mr.  Irving,  a  relative  of  W.  Irving,  Esq.,  and  Mr.  Robert 
Serril  Wood,  an  Englishman  (both  travellers  of  European 
realms,  with  fund  inexhaustible  for  amusement  and  enter- 
tainment); Lieutenant   Reed,   of  the  fxrmy,  and  myself, 
forming  the  rest  of  the  party.    The  many  amusing  little 

incidents  which  enlivened  our  transit  up  the  sinuoiis  wind- 

41 


!il 


tv  ., 


'■'  i  i'^'S 


. .2  LETTEl^  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 

•  ^  u.  rat)ids  It.  I:tnk8  of  lovcVicst 
,„g9  of  the  Fox  river,  amid  ;ts  rap     ,  ^^^^^^^^^  ^^^^^^  ^^ 

prairies  and  "oak  openmgs     an  ^^^^,^  ^^^^^^^ 

'wild  riee,  with  the  tl-;  ^mg ^notes^^  ^^^^^  ^^^^^^^^  ^^^ 

and  "  chansons  pour  rirt,  ^        ^^^^  registered, 

were  too  good  to  be  thrown  away  an^  ^^^^ 

perhaps  for  a  ^^^ure  oceas^on     Sujr-  ^.^^  ^^  ^^^ 

?^at  our  fragile  ba.k  brought  us  m  g^  ^^  ^^^   ^^^^^^ 
^Yinuebago.  with  -P;;^^^^;,^,  ,teet  and  beautiful  little 

which  can  never  be  ^^^'f '  ^-    ^^ich  kept  us  awake 

nvcr,  and  of  the  fun  and  faiowsh^p  ^^^.^^  ^^^^  ^^^^  ^^ 
during  the  nights,  almost  as  w  ^^^  ^^^^^^  companions 

this  post,  after  ^^'^^"^^"^^^f^  "^'^Yr  Wood  and  myself  to 
took  a  ^^^^^-^^Z'^  canoe  for  our  voyage 
cater  anew,  and  to  buy  ^^^°  ^^  chien;  in  which  we 

down  the  Ouisconsin,  to  ^  '^^  -^  y,,,,d,  and  hearts 

embarked  the  next  ^^^^ jf  jf  ,,,u.,h  we  propelled  our 
-  l;gV-  as  ^^J2^Z1^,,  embracing  two  nigW 
little  canoe.     Ihree  a^y     F  ^^  ^^j.  voyage.     We 

encampment,  brought  ^.^j.^^J^J^^tually  acknowledged 
entered  the  mighty  MisstsTP,  and  m        J^^^^  ^^^^^^  ^^ 

oarselves  P-^  ^^  ^^^ifjf  J^^  we  had  passed,  and 
beauty  and  romance,  ^hro"  n  ^.^^^^^^  ^^^^^^^  ^^^ 

on  which  our  untiring  .yc^^  '^ad 

whole  way.  ^      ^^  ^ost  appropriately 

The  Ouisconsin,  f^'^\l'^y^'  ,,,tainly  vie  with  any 
denominate  »  La  belle  rme  c,  rnay  c  ^^^y ^^  ^^^^^^^^^^^ 
other  on  the  Continent  or  m  the  w       ,  ^^  ^^.^  ^^ 

Btirted  banks  and  prair  e  blufls.     i        ^  ^^  ^^^.^,^  ^^ 

be  equal  to  the  ^-^^P?  ;;'tt  not  on  quite  so  grand  a 
point  of  sweetness  and  be.uUy,  o 

scale.  ,      ^         .  fpUow-traveller,  like  a  true 

My  excellent  and  esteemed  feUowt       ^^^^^^^  ^^^  ^.^, 

Englishman,  ha.  ^^^^""f^^^T^e  mentioned,  and  also  the 
culties,  passing  the  countrie^a^^^^^^         ^^^  ^^^^^^^, 

Western  world. 


f  loveliest 
shores  of 
I's  Ruitar, 
tmen,  &c., 
registered, 
\e  present, 
ne  to  Fort 
our   bearta 
autiful  little 
)t  us  awake 

0  days.    At 
companions 

id  myself  to 
:  our  voyage 
in  vfbicli  we 
(1,  and  hearts 
propelled  our 
,g  two  niglits' 
voyage.    We 

1  acknowledged 
,able  scenes  of 
ad  passed,  and 
ted  during  the 

appropriately 
ly  vie  -with  any 
:  its  beautifully 
ustly  be  said  to 
irie  du  Cbicu  m 
quite  so  grand  a 

Her,  lite  a  true 
tbrougb  all  diffi- 
,ned,  and  also  the 

e  overland  route 
id  plateau  of  the 


NORTH   AMERICAN   INDIANS. 


643 


*  *  *         Thus  far  have  I  strolled,  within 

the  space  of  a  few  weeks,  for  the  purpose  of  reaching  chsaic 
ground. 

Be  not  amazed  if  1  liave  sought,  in  this  distant  realm,  the 
Indian  J/'^e,  for  hero  she  dwells,  and  here  she  must  be 
invoked — nor  be  ofl'ended  if  my  narratives  from  this 
moment  should  savour  of  po<''rv  or  appear  like  romance. 

If  I  can  catch  the  inspirr  im,  I  may  sing  (or  yell)  a  few 
epistles  from  this  famed  ^  nnd  before  I  leave  it;  or  at 
least  I  will  prose  a  few  of  'oading  characteristics  and 
mysterious  legends.  This  |  .aoe  is  great  (not  in  history,  for 
there  is  none  of  it,  but)  in  traditi'  us,  and  stories,  of  which 
this  Western  world  is  full  and  rich. 

"Here  (according  to  their  traditions),  happened  the 
mysterious  birth  of  the  red  pipe,  which  has  blown  its  fumes 
of  peace  and  war  to  the  remotest  corners  of  the  Continent ; 
which  has  visited  every  warrior,  and  passed  through  its 
reddened  stem  the  irrevocable  oath  of  war  and  desolation. 
And  here  also,  the  peace-breathing  calumet  was  born,  and 
fringed  with  the  eagle's  quills,  which  has  shed  its  thrilling 
fumes  over  the  land,  and  soothed  the  fury  of  the  relentless 
savage. 

"The  Great  Spirit  at  an  ancient  period,  here  called  the 
Indian  nations  together,  and  standing  on  the  precipice  of 
the  red-pipe  stone  rock,  broke  from  its  wall  a  piece,  and 
made  a  huge  pipe  by  turning  it  in  his  hand,  which  he 
smoked  over  them,  and  to  the  North,  the  South,  the  East, 
and  the  West,  and  told  them  that  this  stone  was  red — that 
it  was  their  flesh — chat  they  must  use  it  for  their  pipes  of 
peace — that  it  belonged  to  them  all,  and  that  the  war-club 
and  scalping  knife  must  not  be  raised  on  its  ground.  At 
the  last  whiff  of  his  pipe  his  head  went  into  a  great  cloud, 
and  the  whole  surface  of  the  rock  for  several  miles  was 
melted  and  glazed  ;  two  great  ovens  were  opened  beneath, 
and  two  women  (guardian  spirits  of  the  place),  entered  them 
in  a  blaze  of  fire ;  and  they  are  heard  there  yet  (Tso-mec- 


cos-tee,    and    Tso-me-cos-te-won-dee), 


answermg 


to   the 


l#:i|V.Mi 


1  ll'^tjcf 


¥     ' 


*/*r- 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


-^'  ./:^\% 


1.0 


1^  1^    12.2 


I.I 


H:  B^ 


2.0 


u 


L25  IIIU   11.6 


Photographic 

Sciences 
Corporation 


33  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER, NY.  USSO 

(716)  873-4503 


4^ 


6^ 


V 
<> 


6l4 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


invocations  of  the  high  priests  or  medicine-men,  who  consult 
them  when  they  are  visitors  to  this  sacred  p\ace." 

Near  this  spot,  also,  on  a  high  mound,  is  the  "  Thunder^ 
neat"  (nid-du-Tonnere),  where  "  a  very  small  bird  sits  upon 
her  eggs  during  fair  weather,  and  the  skies  are  rent  with 
bolts  of  thunder  at  the  approach  of  a  storm,  which  is 
occasioned  by  the  hatching  of  her  brood  I 

"  This  bird  is  eternal,  and  incapable  of  reproducing  her 
own  species :  she  has  often  been  seen  by  the  medicine-men, 
and  is  about  as  large  as  the  end  of  the  little  finger  I  Her 
mate  is  a  serpent,  whose  fiery  tongue  destroys  the  young 
ones  as  soon  as  they  are  hatched,  and  the  fiery  noise  darts 
through  the  skies, " 

Such  are  a  few  of  the  stories  of  this  famed  land,  which  of 
itself,  in  its  beauty  and  loveliness,  without  the  aid  of 
traditionary  fame,  would  be  appropriately  denominated  a 
paradise.  Whether  it  has  been  an  Indian  Eden  or  not,  or 
whether  the  thunderbolts  of  Indian  Jupiter  are  actually 
forged  here,  it  is  nevertheless  a  place  renowned  in  Indian 
heraldry  and  tradition,  which  I  hope  I  may  be  able  to 
fathom  and  chronicle,  as  explanatory  of  many  of  my 
anecdotes  and  traditionary  superstitions  of  Indian  history, 
which  I  have  given,  and-  am  giving^  to  the  world. 

With  my  excellent  companion,  I  am  encamped  on,  and 
writing  from,  the  very  rock  where  "  the  Great  Spirit  stood 
when  he  consecrated  the  pipe  of  peace,  by  moulding  it  from 
the  rock,  and  smoking  it  over  the  congregated  nations  that 
were  assembled  about  him. " 

Lifted  up  on  this  stately  mound,  whose  top  is  fanned  with 
air  as  light  to  breathe  as  nitrous  gas — and  bivouacked  on 
its  very  ridge,  (where  nought  on  earth  is  seen  in  distance 
save  the  thousand  treeless,  bushless,  weedhss  hills  of  grass  and 
vivid  green  which  all  around  me  vanish  into  an  infinity  of 
blue  and  azure),  stretched  on  our  bears'-skins,  my  fellow- 
traveller,  Mr.  Wood,  and  myself,  have  laid  and  contemplated 
the  splendid  orrery  of  the  heavens.  With  sad  delight,  that 
shook  me  with  a  terror,  have  I  watched  the  swollen  sun 


NORTH  AM£BICAN  INDIANS. 


645 


shoving  down  (too  fast  for  time)  upon  the  mystic  horizon : 
\7h0se  line  was  lost  except  as  it  was  marked  in  blue  across 
his  blood-red  disk.  Thus  have  we  laid  night  after  night 
(two  congenial  spirits  who  could  draw  pleasure  from  sublime 
contemplation),  and  descanted  on  our  own  insignificance ; 
we  have  closely  drawn  our  buffalo  robes  about  us,  talked  of 
the  ills  of  life — of  friends  we  had  lost— of  projects  that  had 
failed — and  of  the  painful  steps  we  had  to  retrace  to  reach 
our  own  dear  native  lands  again.  We  have  sighed  in  the 
melancholy  of  twilight,  when  the  busy  winds  were  breathing 
their  last,  the  chill  of  sable  night  was  hovering  around  us, 
and  naught  of  noise  was  heard  but  the  silvery  tones  of  the 
howling  wolf,  and  the  subterraneous  whistle  of  the  busy 
gophirs  that  were  ploughing  and  vaulting  the  earth  beneath 
tis.  Thus  have  we  seen  wheeled  down  in  the  West^  the  glories 
of  day ;  and  at  the  next  moment,  in  the  Eaat,  beheld  her 
silver  majesty  jutting  up  above  the  horizon,  with  splendor 
in  her  face  that  seemed  again  to  fill  the  world  with  joy  and 
gladness.  We  have  seen  here,  too,  in  all  its  sublimity,  the 
blackening  thunderstorm — ^the  lightning's  glare,  and  stood 
amidst  the  jarring  thunder-bolts,  that  tore  and  broke  in 
awful  rage  about  us,  as  they  rolled  over  the  smooth  surface, 
with  nought  but  empty  air  to  vent  their  vengeance  on. 
There  is  a  sublime  grandeur  in  these  scenes  as  they  are 
presented  here,  which  must  be  seen  and  felt,  to  be  under- 
stood. There  is  a  majesty  in  the  very  ground  that  we 
tread  upon,  that  inspires  with  awe  and  reverence;  and 
he  must  have  the  soul  of  a  brute,  who  could  gallop  his 
horse  for  a  whole  day  over  swells  and  terraces  of  green 
that  rise  continually  a-head,  and  tantalize  (where  hills 
peep  over  hills,  and  Alps  on  Alps  arise),  without  feeling 
his  bosom  swell  with  awe  and  admiration,  and  himself 
as  well  as  his  thoughts,  lifted  up  in  sublimity  when  he 
rises  the  last  terrace,  and  sweeps  his  eye  over  the  wide- 
spread, blue  and  pictured  infinity  that  lies  around  and 
beneath  him.* 

*  The  reader  and  traveller  who  may  hare  this  book  with  him,  should 


M 


a 


m 


W^ 


646 


LETTERS  AND  K0T£3  ON  THE 


Man  feels  here,  and  startles  at  the  thrilling  sensation,  the 
force  of  illimitable  freedom — his  body  and  his  mind  both 
seem  to  have  entered  a  new  element — the  former  as  free  as 
the  very  wind  it  inhales,  and  the  other  as  expanded  and 
infinite  as  the  boundless  imagery  that  is  spread  in  distance 
around  him.  Such  is  (and  it  is  feebly  told)  the  Coteau  du 
Prairie.  The  rock  on  which  I  sit  to  write,  is  the  summit 
of  a  precipice  thirty  feet  high,  extending  two  miles  in  length 
and  much  of  the  way  polished,  as  if  a  liquid  glazing  had 
been  poured  over  its  surface.  Not  far  from  us,  in  the  solid 
rock,  are  the  deep  impressed  "  footsteps  of  the  Great  Spirit 
(in  the  form  of  a  track  of  a  large  bird),  where  he  formerly 
stood  when  the  blood  of  the  buffaloes  that  he  was  devouring, 
ran  into  the  rocks  and  turned  them  red."  At  a  few  yards 
from  us,  leaps  a  beautiful  little  stream,  from  the  top  of  the 
precipice,  into  a  deep  basin  below.  Here,  amid  rocks  of 
the  lovliest  hues,  but  wildest  contour,  is  seen  the  poor 
Indian  performing  ablution ;  and  at  a  little  distance  beyond 
on  the  plain,  at  the  base  of  five  huge  granite  boulders,  he 
is  humbly  propitiating  the  guardian  spirits  of  the  place,  by 
sacrifices  of  tobacco,  entreating  for  permission  to  take  away 
a  small  piece  of  the  red  stone  for  a  pipe. 

Further  along,  and  over  an  extended  plain  are  seen,  like 
gophir  hills,  their  excavations,  ancient  and  recent,  and  on 
the  surface  of  the  rocks,  various  marks  and  their  sculp- 
tured hieroglyphics — their  wakons,  totems  and  medicines — 
subjects  numerous  and  interesting  for  the  antiquary  or  the 
merely  curious.  Graves,  mounds,  and  ancient  fortifications 
that  lie  in  sight — the  pyramid  or  leaping-rock,  and  its 
legends  •  together  with  traditions,  novel  and  numerous,  and 
a  de?  on,  graphical  and  geological,  of  this  strange  place, 
have  i  -  been  subjects  that  have  passed  rapidly  through 
my  contemplation,  and  will  be  given  in  future  epistles. 

On  our  way  to  this  place,  my  English  companion  and 
myself  were  arrested  by  a  rascally  band  of  the  Sioux,  and 

follow  the  Cftteau  a  few  miles  to  the  North  of  the  Qaarrr,  for  the  high- 
est elevation  and  greatest  sublimity  of  view. 


J 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


647 


held  in  durance  vile,  for  having  dared  to  approach  the  sacred 
fountain  of  thepipe  1  While  we  had  halted  at  the  trading- 
hut  of  "  Le  Blanc,"  at  a  place  called  Traverse  des  Sioux,  on 
the  St.  Peter's  river,  and  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
from  the  Red  Pipe,  a  murky  cloud  of  dark-visaged  warriors 
and  braves  commenced  gathering  around  the  house,  closing 
and  cramming  all  its  avenues,  when  one  began  his  agitated 
and  insulting  harangue  to  us,  announcing  to  us  in  the 
preamble,  that  we  were  prisoners,  and  could  not  go  ahead. 
About  twenty  of  them  spoke  in  turn ;  and  we  were  doomed 
to  sit  nearly  the  whole  afternoon,  without  being  allowed  to 
speak  a  word  in  our  behalf,  until  they  had  all  got  through. 
We  were  compelled  to  keep  our  seats  like  culprits,  and 
hold  our  tongues,  till  all  had  brandished  their  fists  in  our 
faces,  and  vented  all  the  threats  and  invective  that  could 
flow  from  Indian  malice,  grounded  on  the  presumption  that 
we  had  come  to  trespass  on  their  dearest  privilege, — their 
religion. 

There  was  some  allowance  to  be  made,  and  some  excuse, 
surely,  for  the  rashness  of  these  poor  fellows,  and  we  felt 
disposed  to  pity,  rather  than  resent,  though  their  unpardon- 
able  stiihbomness  excited  us  almost  to  desperation.  Their 
superstition  was  sensibly  touched,  for  we  were  persisting, 
in  the  most  peremptory  terms,  in  the  determination  to  visit 
this  their  greatest  medicine  (mystery)  place;  where,  it 
seems,  they  had  often  resolved  no  white  man  should  ever 
be  allowed  to  go.  They  took  us  to  be  "  officers  sent  by 
Government  to  see  what  this  place  was  worth,"  &c.  As 
"  this  red  stone  was  a  part  of  their  flesh,"  it  would  be  sacri- 
legious for  white  man  to  touch  or  take  it  away — "  a  hole 
Would  be  made  in  their  flesh,  and  the  blood  could  never  be 
made  to  stop  running,"  My  companion  and  myself  were 
here  in  a  fix,  one  that  demanded  the  use  of  every  energy 
we  had  about  us ;  astounded  at  so  unexpected  a  rebuff,  and 
more  than  ever  excited  to  go  ahead,  and  see  what  was  to  be 
seen  at  this  strange  place ;  in  this  emergency,  we  mutually 
agreed  to  go  forward,  even  if  it  should  be  at  the  hazard  of 


643 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  017  THB 


our  lives ;  we  heard  all  tboy  had  to  say,  and  then  made  our 
own  speeches — and  at  length  had  our  horses  brought,  which 
we  mounted  and  rode  off  without  further  molestation ;  and 
having  arrived  upon  this  interesting  ground,  have  found  it 
quite  equal  in  interest  and  beauty  to  our  sanguine  expec- 
tations, abunaantly  repaying  us  for  all  our  trouble  in 
travelling  to  it. 

I  had  long  ago  heard  many  curious  descriptions  of  this 
spot  given  by  the  Indians,  and  had  contracted  the  most 
impatient  desire  to  visit  it.*  It  will  be  seen  by  some  of 
the  traditions  inserted  in  this  Letter,  from  my  notes  taken 
on  the  Upper  Missouri  four  years  since,  that  those  tribes 
have  visited  this  place  freely  in  former  times ;  and  that  it 
has  once  been  held  and  owned  in  common,  as  neutral 
ground,  amongst  the  different  tribes  who  met  here  to 
renew  their  pipes,  under  some  superstition  which  stayed 
the  tomahawk  of  natural  foes,  always  raised  in  deadly  hate 
and  vengeance  in  other  places.  It  will  be  seen  also,  that 
within  a  few  years  past  (and  that,  probably,  by  the  instiga- 
tion of  the  whites,  who  have  told  them  that  by  keeping  off 
other  tribes,  and  manufacturing  the  pipes  themselves,  and 
trading  them  to  other  adjoining  nations,  they  can  acquire 

*  I  have,  in  former  epistles,  several  times  spoken  of  the  red  pipes  of 
the  Indians  which  are  fonnd  in  almost'  every  tribe  of  Indians  on  tho 
Continent ;  and  in  every  instance  have,  I  venture  to  say,  been  brcnght 
from  the  Cfiteau  dcs  Prairies,  inasmuch  as  no  tribe  of  Indians  that  I 
have  yet  visited,  have  ever  apprised  me  of  any  other  source  than  this ; 
and  the  stone  from  which  they  are  all  mannfactured,  is  of  the  same 
character  exactly,  and  different  from  any  known  mineral  compound  ever 
yet  discovered  in  any  part  of  Europe,  or  other  parts  of  the  American 
Continent.  This  may  be  thought  a  broad  assertion — yet  it  is  one  I 
have  ventured  to  make  (and  one  I  should  have  had  no  motive  for 
making,  except  for  the  purpose  of  eliciting  information,  if  there  be  any, 
on  a  subject  so  curious  and  so  exceedingly  interesting).  In  my  Indiak 
Museum  there  can  always  be  seen  a  great  many  beautiful  specimens  of 
this  mineral  selected  on  the  spot,  by  myself,  embracing  all  of  its  nnmcr* 
ous  varieties ;  and  I  challenge  the  world  to  produce  anything  like  it, 
except  it  be  from  the  same  locality.  In  a  following  Letter  will  be  found 
a  further  account  of  it,  and  its  chemical  analysis. 


NORTH  AMERICAK  INDUNS. 


649 


much  influence  and  wealth),  the  Sioux  have  laid  entire 
claim  to  this  quarry ;  and  as  it  is  in  the  centre  of  their 
country,  and  they  are  more  powerful  than  any  other  tribes, 
they  are  able  successfully  to  prevent  any  access  to  it. 

That  this  place  should  have  been  visited  for  centuries 
past  by  all  the  neighboring  tribes,  who  have  hidden  the 
war-club  as  they  approached  it,  and  stayed  the  cruelties  of 
the  scalping-knife,  under  the  fear  of  the  vengeance  of  the 
Great  Spirit,  who  overlooks  it,  will  not  seem  strange  or 
unnatural,  when  their  religion  and  superstitions  are  known. 

That  such  has  been  the  custom,  there  is  not  a  shadow  of 
doubt ;  and  that  even  so  recently  as  to  have  been  witnessed 
by  hundreds  and  thousands  of  Indians  of  different  tribes, 
now  living,  and  from  many  of  whom  I  have  personally 
drawn  the  information,'  some  of  which  will  be  set  forth  in 
the  following  traditions;  and  as  an  additional  (and  still 
more  conclusive)  evidence  of  the  above  position,  here  are 
to  be  seen  (and  will  continue  to  be  seen  for  ages  to  come), 
the  totems  and  arms  of  the  different  tribes,  who  have  visited 
this  place  for  ages  past,  deeply  engraved  on  the  quartz 
rooks  where  they  are  to  be  recognized  in  a  moment  (and 
not  »o  be  denied)  by  the  passing  traveller,  who  has  been 
among  these  tribes,  and  acquired  even  but  a  partial  know- 
ledge of  them  and  their  respective  modes.* 

The  thousands  of  inscriptions  and  paintings  on  the  rocks 
at  this  place,  as  well  as  the  ancient  diggings  for  the  pipe- 
stone,  will  -afford  amusement  for  the  world  who  will  visit 
it,  without  furnishing  the  least  data,  I  should  think,  of  the 

*  I  am  aware  that  this  interesting  fact  may  be  opposed  by  subsequent 
travellers,  who  will  find  nobody  but  the  Sioux  upon  this  ground,  who 
now  claim  exclusive  right  to  it ;  and  for  the  satisfaction  of  those  who 
doubt,  I  refer  them  to  Lewis  and  Clark's  Tour,  thirty-three  years  since, 
before  the  influence  of  Traders  had  deranged  the  system  and  truth  of 
things,  in  these  regions.  I  have  often  conversed  with  General  Clark,  of 
St.  Louis,  on  this  subject,  and  he  told  me  explicitly,  and  authorized  me 
to  say  it  to  the  world,  that  every  tribe  on  the  Missouri  told  him  they  had 
been  to  this  place,  and  that  the  Great  Spirit  kept  the  peace  amongst  his 
red  children  on  that  ground,  where  they  had  smoked  with  their  enemies. 


1 


660 


LKTTEBS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


time  at  which  these  excavations  commenced,  or  of  the 
period  at  which  the  Sioux  assumed  the  exclusive  right  to  it. 

Among  the  many  traditions  which  I  have  drawn  person- 
ally from  the  different  tribes,  and  which  go  to  support  the 
opinion  above  advanced,  is  the  following  one,  which  was 
related  to  me  by  a  distinguished  Knisteneaux,  on  the 
Upper  Missouri,  four  years  since,  on  occasion  of  presenting 
to  me  a  handsome  red  stone  pipe.  After  telling  me  that  he 
had  been  to  this  place — and  after  describing  it  in  all  its 
features,  he  proceeded  to  say : — 

"  That  in  the  time  of  a  great  freshet,  which  took  place 
many  centuries  ago,  and  destroyed  all  the  nations  of  the 
earth,  all  the  tribes  of  the  red  men  assembled  on  the  Cdteau 
du  Prairie,  to  get  out  of  the  way  of  the  waters.  Afler  tbey 
had  all  gathered  here  from  all  parti,  the  water  continued  to 
rise,  until  at  length  it  covered  them  all  in  a  mass,  and  their 
flesh  was  converted  into  red  pipe  stone.  Therefore  it  has 
always  been  considered  neutral  ground — it  belonged  to  all 
tribes  alike,  and  all  were  allowed  to  get  it  and  smoke  it 
together. 

"  While  they  were  all  drowning  in  a  mass,  a  young 
woman,  K-wap-tah-w  (a  virgin),  caught  hold  of  the  foot  of 
a  very  large  bird  that  was  flying  over,  and  was  carried  to 
the  top  of  a  high  cliff,  not  far  off,  that  was  above  the  water. 
Here  she  had  twins,  and  their  father  was  the  war-eagle  and 
her  children  have  since  peopled  the  earth. 

"  The  pipe  stone,  which  is  the  flesh  of  their  ancestors,  is 
smoked  by  them  as  the  symbol  of  peace,  and  the  eagle's 
quill  decorates  the  head  of  the  brave." 

Tradition  of  the  Sioux. — •*  Before  the  creation  of  man,  the 
Great  Spirit  (whose  tracks  are  yet  to  be  seen  on  the  stones, 
at  the  Red  Pipe,  in  the  form  of  the  tracks  of  a  large  bird) 
used  to  slay  the  buffaloes  and  eat  them  on  the  ledge  of  the 
Red  Rocks,  on  the  top  of  the  C6teau  des  Prairies,  and  their 
blood  running  on  to  the  rocks,  turned  them  red.  One  day 
when  a  large  snake  had  crawled  into  the  nest  of  the  bird  to 
eat  his  eggs,  one  of  the  eggs  hatched  out  in  a  clap  of  thun- 


NORTH  AMKRICAN  INDIANS. 


651 


der,  and  tbe  Great  Spirit  catcbing  hold  of  a  piece  of  tbe 
pipe  stone  to  throw  at  the  snake,  moulded  it  into  a  man. 
This  man's  feet  grew  fast  in  the  ground  'yhere  he  stood  for 
many  ages,  like  a  great  tree,  and  therefore  he  grew  very 
old ;  he  was  older  than  an  hundred  men  at  the  present  day ; 
and  at  last  another  tree  grew  up  by  tbe  side  of  him,  when 
a  large  snake  ate  them  both  off  at  the  roots,  and  they  wan> 
dered  off  together ;  from  these  have  sprung  all  tbe  people 
that  now  inhabit  the  earth." 

Tbe  above  tradition  I  found  amongst  the  Upper  Missouri 
Sioux,  but  which,  when  I  related  to  that  part  of  tbe  great 
tribe  of  Sioux  who  inhabit  the  Upper  Mississippi,  they 
seemed  to  know  nothing  about  it.  The  reason  for  this  may 
have  been,  perhaps,  as  is  often  tbe  case,  owing  to  the  fraud  or 
excessive  ignorance  of  the  interpreter,  on  whom  we  are 
often  entirely  dependent  in  this  country ;  or  it  is  more 
probably  owing  to  the  very  vague  and  numerous  fables 
which  may  often  be  found,  cherished  and  told  by  different 
bands  or  families  in  the  same  tribe,  and  relative  to  the 
same  event. 

I  shall,  on  a  future  occasion,  give  you  a  Letter  on 
traditions  of  this  kind,  which  will  be  found  to  be  very 
strange  and  amusing;  establishing  tbe  fact  at  tbe  same 
time,  that  theories  respecting  their  origin,  creation  of  the 
world,  &c.,  &o.,  are  by  no  means  unifovrn  throughout  the 
different  tribes,  nor  even  through  an  iniL  v  idual  tribe ;  and 
that  very  many  of  these  theories  are  but  the  vagaries,  or 
tbe  ingenious  system  of  their  medicine  or  mystery-men, 
conjured  up  and  taught  to  their  own  respective  parts  of  a 
tribe,  for  tbe  purpose  of  gaining  an  extraordinary  influence 
over  tbe  minds  and  actions  of  tbe  remainder  of  the  tribe, 
whose  superstitious  minds,  under  the  supernatural  control 
and  dread  of  these  self-made  magicians,  are  held  in  a  state 
of  mysterious  vassalage. 

Amongst  the  Sioux  of  the  Mississippi,  and  who  live  in 
the  region  of  the  Red  Pipe  Stone-Quarry,  I  found  the 
following  and  not  less  strange  tradition  on  the  same  subject. 


f 


il" 


U 


:  h 


J 


M 


652 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


"  Many  ages  aflor  the  red  men  were  made,  when  all  the 
different  tribes  were  at  war,  the  Great  Spirit  sent  runners 
and  called  them  all  together  at  the'  Bed  Pipe.' — He  stood  on 
the  top  of  the  rocks,  and  the  red  people  were  assembled 
in  infinite  numbers  on  the  plains  below.  He  took  out  of 
the  rook  a  piece  of  the  red  stone,  and  made  a  large  pipe; 
and  smoked  it  over  them  all ;  told  them  that  it  was  part  of 
their  flesh ;  that  though  they  were  at  war,  they  must  meet 
at  this  place  as  friends ;  that  it  belonged  to  them  all ;  that 
they  must  make  their  calumets  from  it  and  smoke  them  to 
him  whenever  they  wished  to  appease  him  or  get  his  good- 
will— the  smoke  from  his  big  pipe  rolled  over  them  all, 
and  he  disappeared  in  its  cloud ;  at  the  last  whiff  of  his 
pipe  a  blaze  of  fire  rolled  over  the  rocks,  and  melted  their 
surface — at  that  moment  two  squaws  went  in  a  blaze  of  fire 
under  the  two  medicine  rocks,  where  they  remain  to  this 
day,  and  must  be  consulted  and  propitiated  whenever  the 
pipe  stone  is  to  be  taken  away." 

The  following  speech  of  a  Mandan,  which  was  made  to 
me  in  the  Mandan  village  four  years  since,  after  I  had 
painted  his  picture,  I  have  copied  from  my  note-book  as 
corroborative  of  the  same  facts : 

"  My  brother — You  have  made  my  picture  and  I  like  it 
much.  My  friends  tell  me  they  can  see  the  eyes  move, 
and  it  must  be  very  good — it  must  bo  partly  alive.  I  am 
glad  it  is  done — though  many  of  my  people  are  afraid.  I 
am  a  young  man,  but  my  heart  is  strong.  I  have  jumped 
on  to  the  medicine-rock — I  have  placed  my  arrow  on  it, 
and  no  Mandan  can  take  it  away.*    The  red  stone  is  slip- 

*  The  medicine  (or  leaping)  rock  is  a  part  of  the  precipice  which  hag 
become  severed  from  the  main  part,  standing  about  seven  or  eight  feet 
from  the  wall,  just  equal  in  height,  and  aboat  seven  feet  in  diameter. 

It  stands  like  an  immense  column  of  thirty-five  feet  high,  and  highly 
polished  on  its  top  and  sides.  It  requires  a  daring  effort  to  leap  on  to 
its  top  from  the  main  wall,  and  back  again,  and  many  a  heart  has  sighed 
for  the  honor  of  the  feat  without  daring  to  make  the  attempt.  Some 
few  have  tried  it  with  success,  and  left  their  arrows  standing  in  its  crevice, 
several  of  which  are  seen  there  at  this  time ;  others  have  leapt  the  chasm 


.-, 


KORTH  AMEBIOAN  INDIANS. 


658 


pery,  but  my  foot  waa  true — it  did  not  slip.  My  brother, 
this  pipe  which  I  give  to  you,  I  brought  from  a  high 
mountain,  it  ia  toward  the  rising  sun — many  were  the  pipes 
that  we  brought  from  there — and  we  brought  them  away 
in  peace.  We  left  our  totems  or  marks  on  the  rooks — we 
cut  them  deep  in  the  stones,  and  they  are  there  now.  The 
Great  Spirit  told  all  nations  to  meet  there  in  peace,  and  all 
nations  hid  the  war-club  and  the  tomahawk.  The  Dah-co- 
tahs,  who  are  our  enemies  are  very  strong — they  have  taken 
up  the  tomahawk,  and,  the  blood  of  our  warriors  has  run 
on  the  rocks.  My  friend,  we  want  to  visit  our  medicines — 
our  pipes  are  old  and  worn  out.  My  friend,  I  wish  you  to 
speak  to  our  Great  Father  about  this." 

The  chief  of  the  Punchas,  on  the  Upper  Missouri,  also 
made  the  following  allusion  to  this  place,  in  a  speech  which 
he  made  to  me  on  the  occasion  of  presenting  me  a  very 
handsome  pipe  about  four  years  since : — 

"  My  friend,  this  pipe,  which  I  wish  you  to  accept,  was 
dug  from  the  ground,  and  cut  and  polished  as  you  now 
see  it,  by  my  hands.  I  wish  you  to  keep  it,  and  when 
you  smoke  through  it,  recollect  that  this  red  stone  is  a  part 
of  our  flesh.  This  is  one  of  the  last  things  we  can  ever 
give  away.  Our  enemies  the  Sioux,  have  raised  the  red 
flag  of  blood  over  the  Pipe  Stone-Quarry,  and  our  medicines 
there  are  trodden  under  foot  by  them.  The  Sioux  are 
many,  and  we  cannot  go  to  the  mountain  of  the  red  pipe. 

and  fallen  from  the  slippery  snrface  on  which  they  coald  not  hold,  and 
suffered  instant  death  upon  the  craggy  rocks  below.  Every  yonng 
man  in  the  nation  is  ambitious  to  perform  this  feat ;  and  those  who 
have  snccessfally  done  it  are  allowed  to  boast  of  it  all  their  lives.  In 
the  sketch  already  exhibited,  there  will  be  seen,  a  view  of  the- "  leaping 
rock  ;'*  and  in  the  middle  of  the  picture,  a  mound,  of  a  conical  form,  of 
ten  feet  high,  which  was  erected  over  the  body  of  a  distinguished 
young  man  who  was  killed  by  making  this  daring  effort,  about  two 
years  before  I  was  there,  and  whose  sad  fate  was  related  to  me  by  a 
Sioux  chief,  who  was  father  of  tho  yonng  man,  and  was  visiting  the 
Bed  Pipe  Stone-Qnarry,  with  thirty  others  of  his  tribe,  when  we  were 
there,  and  cried  over  the  grave,  as  ho  related  the  stoiy  to  Mr.  Wood 
and  myself,  of  his  son's  death. 


654 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


We  have  seen  all  nations  smoking  together  at  that  place- 
but,  my  brother,  it  is  not  so  now."* 

Such  are  a  few  of  the  stories  relating  to  this  curious 
place,  and  many  others  might  be  given  which  I  have 
procured,  though  they  amount  to  nearly  the  same  thing 
with  equal  contradictions  and  equal  absurdities. 

The  position  of  the  Pipe  Stone-Quarry,  is  ia  a  direction 
nearly  West  from  the  Fall  of  St.  Anthony,  at  a  distance  of 
three  hundred  miles,  on  the  summit  of  the  dividing  ridge 
between  the  $t.  Peter's  and  the  Missouri  rivers,  being  about 
equi-distant  from  either.  This  dividing  ridge  is  denominated 
by  the  French,  the  "  C6teau  des  Prairies,"  and  the  "  Pipe 
StouoQuarry "  is  situated  near  its  southern  extremity,  and 
consequently  not  exactly  on  its  highest  elevation,  as  its 
general  course  is  north  and  south,  and  its  southern  extremity 
terminates  in  a  gradual  slope. 

Our  approach  to  it  was  from  the  East,  and  the  ascent,  for 
the  distance  of  fifty  miles,  over  a  continued  succession  of 
slopes  and  terraces,  almost  imperceptibly  rising  one  above 
another,  that  seemed  to  lift  us  to  a  great  height.  The 
singular  character  of  this  majestic  mound,  continues  on  the 


•  On  my  return  from  the  Pipe  Stone-Quarry,  one  of  the  old  chiefs  of 
the  Sacs,  on  seeing  some  specimens  of  the  stone  which  I  brought  with 
me  from  that  place,  observed  as  follows : — 

"  My  friend,  when  I  was  young,  I  used  to  go  with  our  young  men  to 
the  mountain  of  the  Red  Pipe,  and  dig  out  pieces  for  our  pipes.  We 
do  not  go  now ;  and  our  red  pipes  as  yon  see,  are  few.  The  Dah-co-tah's 
hare  spilled  the  blood  of  red  men  on  that  place,  and  the  Great  Spirit 
is  offended.  The  white  traders  have  told  them  to  draw  their  bows  upon 
us  when  we  go  there ;  they  have  offered  us  many  of  the  pipes  for  gale, 
but  we  do  not  want  to  smoke  them,  for  we  know  that  the  Great  Spirit 
is  offended.  My  mark  is  on  the  rocks  in  many  places,  but  I  shall  never 
see  them  again.  They  lie  where  the  Great  Spirit  sees  them,  for  his 
eye  is  over  that  place,  he  sees  everything  that  is  here." 

Ke-o-kuck  chief  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  when  I  asked  him  whether 
he  had  ever  been  there,  replied— 

"  No  I  have  never  seen  it ;  it  is  in  our  enemies'  country, — I  wish  it 
was  in  ours— I  would  sell  it  to  the  whites  for  a  great  many  boxes  of 
money." 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


655 


West  side,  in  its  desoent  toward  tbe  Missouri.  There  in 
not  a  tree  or  bush  to  be  seea  from  the  highest  summit  of 
the  ridge,  though  the  eye  may  range  East  and  West,  almost 
to  a  boundless  extent,  over  a  surface  covered  with  a  short 
grass,  that  is  green  at  one's  feet,  and  about  him,  but 
changing  to  blue  in  distance,  like  nothing  but  the  blue  and 
vastness  of  the  ocean. 

The  whole  surface  of  this  immense  tract  of  country  is 
hard  and  smooth,  almost  without  stone  or  gravel,  and 
coated  with  a  green  turf  of  grass  of  three  or  four  inches 
only  in  height.  Over  this  the  wheels  of  a  carriage  would 
run  as  easily,  for  hundreds  of  miles,  as  they  could  on  a 
McAdamized  road,  and  its  graceful  gradations  would  in  all 
parts,  admit  of  a  horse  to  gallop,  with  ease  to  himself  and 
his  rider. 

The  full  extent  and  true  character  of  these  vast  prairies 
are  but  imperfectly  understood  by  the  world  yet ;  who  will 
agree  with  me  that  they  are  a  subject  truly  sublime  for 
contemplation,  when  I  assure  them,  that  "  a  coach  and  four" 
might  be  driven  with  ease,  (with  the  exception  of  rivers  and 
ravines,  which  are  in  many  places  impassable),  over 
unceasing  fields  of  green,  from  the  Fall  of  St.  Anthony  to 
Lord  Selkirk's  Establishment  on  the  Red  River,  at  the 
North ;  from  that  to  the  mouth  of  Yellow  Stone  on  the 
Missouri — thence  to  the  Platte — to  the  Arkansas,  and  Red 
Rivers  of  the  South,  and  through  Texas  to  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico,  a  distance  of  more  than  three  thousand  miles. 

I  mentioned  in  a  former  Letter,  that  we  had  been 
arrested  by  the  Sioux,  on  our  approach  to  this  place,  at  the 
trading-post  of  Le  Blanc,  on  the  banks  of  the  St.  Peter's ; 
and  I  herein  insert  the  most  important  part  of  the  speeches 
made,  and  talks  held  on  that  momentous  occasion,  as  near 
as  my  friend  and  I  could  restore  them,  from  partial  notes 
and  recollection.  After  these  copper-visaged  advocates  of 
their  country's  rights  had  assembled  about  us,  and  filled  up 
every  avenue  of  the  cabin,  the  grave  council  was  opened  in 
the  following  manner : — 


Pi 


I  ;: 


;-i,i ' 


666 


LSTTBBS  AKD  NOTES  ON  THE 


Y  Te-0-kun-hko  (the  swift  man),  first  rose  and  said— 

"  My  friends,  I  am  not  a  chief,  but  the  son  of  a  chief— -I 
am  the  son  of  my  fether — ^he  is  a  chief— and  when  he  is 
gone  away,  it  is  my  duty  to  speak  for  him — ^he  is  not  here 
— but  what  I  say  is  the  talk  of  his  mouth.  We  have  been 
told  that  you  are  going  to  the  Pipe  Stone-Quarry.  "We 
come  now  to  ask  for  what  purpose  you  are  going,  and  what 
business  you  have  to  go  there. "  ("  How  I  how  I"  vocifer- 
ated all  of  them,  thereby  approving  what  was  said,  giving 
aasent  by  the  word  hoWf  which  is  their  word  for  yes). 

*^  Brothers — 1  am  a  brave,  but  not  a  chief— my  arrow 
stands  in  the  top  of  the  leaping-rook ;  all  can  see  it,  and  all 
know  that  Te-o-kun-hko's  foot  has  been  there.    ('Howl 

howl') 

•^Brothers — We  look  at  you  and  we  see  that  you  are 
Ghe-mo-ke-mon  captains  (white  men  oflficers):  we  know 
that  you  have  been  sent  by  your  Government,  to  see  what 
that  place  is  worth,  and  we  think  that  the  white  people 
want  to  buy  it.    ('  How,  how'). 

"  Brothers — We  have  seen  always  that  the  white  people, 
when  they  see  anything  in  our  country  that  they  want 
send  oflicers  to  value  it,  and  then  if  they  can't  buy  it,  they 
will  get  it  some  other  way.    (*  How  I  how!') 

•'  Brothers — I  speak  strong,  my  heart  is  strong,  and  I 
speak  fast ;  this  red  pipe  was  given  to  the  red  men  by  the 
Great  Spirit — it  is  a  part  of  our  flesh,  and  therefore  is  great 
medicine.    ('Howl  how  I*)         •  -^  '.v  i        ^'.i    .;        < 

"  Brothers — We  know  that  the  whites  are  like  a  great 
cloud  that  rises  in  the  East,  and  will  cover  the  whole 
country.  We  know  that  they  will  have  all  our  lands;  but, 
if  ever  they  get  our  Red  Pipe-Quarry  they  will  haye  to  pay 
very  dear  for  it.    ('  How  I  how  1  how !') 

"  Brothers^We  know  that  no  white  man  has  ever  been 
to  the  Pipe  Stone-Quarry,  and  our  chiefs  have  often 
decided  in  council  that  no  white  man  shall  ever  go  to  it 
('How!  howl') 

"  Brothers — You  have  heard  what  I  have  to  say,  and  you 


NORTH  AMEBICAtT  INDIANS. 


667 


can  go  no  further,  but  you  must  turn  about  and  go  back 
('  How !  how  1  how  l') 

«'  Brothers — You  see  that  the  sweat  runs  from  my  face, 
for  I  am  troubled." 

Then  I  commenced  to  reply  in  the  following  manner  :— 

"  My  friends  I  am  sorry  that  you  have  mistaken  us  so 
much,  and  the  object  of  our  visit  to  your  country.  "We 
are  uot  officers — we  are  not  sent  by  any  one — we  are  two 
poor  men  travelling  to  see  the  Sioux,  and  shake  hands  with 
them,  and  examine  what  is  curious  or  interesting  in  their 
country.  This  man  who  is  with  me  is  my  friend ;  he  is  a 
Sa*ganosh  (an  Englishman).    ('  How  1  how  1  how  I') 

(All  rising  and  shaking  hands  with  him,  and  a  number 
of  them  taking  out  and  showing  British  medals  which  were 
carried  in  their  bosoms.) 

"  We  have  heard  that  the  Red  Pipe-Quarry  was  a  great 
curiosity,  and  we  have  started  to  go  to  it,  and  we  will  not 
be  stopped."  (Here  I  was  interrupted  by  a  grim  and  black- 
visaged  fellow,  who  shook  his  long  shaggy  locks  as  he  rose, 
with  his  sunken  eyes  fixed  in  direct  hatred  on  me,  and  his 
fist  brandished  within  an  inch  of  my  face.)     -        '      ' 

"Pale  Faces/  you  cannot  speak  till  we  have  all  done; 
you  are  our  prisoners — our  young  men  (our  soldiers)  are 
about  the  house,  and  you  must  listen  to  what  we  have  to 
say.  What  has  been  said  to  you  is  true,  you  must  go  back. 
('Howl  howl') 

•'  We  heard  the  word  Sa-ga-nosh,  and  it  makes  our  hearts 
glad ;  we  shook  hand  with  our  brother — his  father  is  our 
father — he  is  our  Great  Father — ^he  lives  across  the  big 
lake — his  son  is  here,  and  we  are  glad — we  wear  our  Great 
Father  the  Sag-a-nosh  on  our  bosoms,  and  we  keep  his  face 
bright* — we  shake  hands,  but  no  white  man  has  been  to 
the  red  pipe  and  none  shall  go.  (*  Howl') 
"You  see  (holding  a  red  pipe  to  the  side  of  his  naked 


*  Many  and  strong  are  the  recollections  of  the  Sioaz  and  other  tribes, 
of  their  alliance  with  the  British  in  the  last  and  revolutionary  wars,  of 

42 


658 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


arm)  that  this  pipe  is  a  part  of  our  flesh. 
a  part  of  the  red  stone.    ('  How,  how  1') 


The  red  men  are 


which  I  have  met  many  carious  instances,  one  of  which  was  correctlj 
reported  in  the  London  Olobe,  from  my  Lectures,  and  I  here  insert  it.— 

THE  GLOBE  AND  TRAVELLER. 

"  Indian  Knowledge  of  English  Affaire. — Mr.  Gatlin,  in  one  of  his 
Lectures  on  the  manners  and  customs  of  the  North  American  Indians, 
during  the  last  week,  related  a  very  curious  occurrence,  which  excited  a 
great  deal  of  surprise  and  some  considerable  mirth  amongst  his  highly 
respectable  and  numerous  audience.  Whilst  speaking  of  the  great  and 
warlike  tribe  of  Sioux  or  Dahcotas,  of  forty  or  fifty  thousand,  he  stated 
that  many  of  this  tribe,  as  well  as  of  several  others,  although  living 
entirely  in  the  territory  of  the  United  States,  and  several  hundred  miles 
south  of  her  Majesty's  possessions,  were  found  cherishing  a  lasting  friend- 
ship for  the  English,  whom  they  denominate  Saganosh.  And  in  very 
many  instances  they  are  to  be  seen  wearing  about  their  necks  large  silver 
medals  with  the  portrait  of  George  III.  in  bold  relief  upon  them. 
These  medals  were  given  to  them  as  badges  of  merit  during  the  last  war 
with  the  United  States,  when  these  warriors  were  employed  in  the  British 
service. 

"The  Lecturer  said,  that  whenever  the  word  Saganosh  was  nsed,  it 
seemed  to  rouse  them  at  once ;  that  on  several  occasions  when  English- 
men had  been  in  his  company  as  fellow-travellers,  they  had  marked 
attentions  paid  th^m  by  these  Indians  as  Saganoshes.  And  on  one  oc- 
casion, in  one  of  his  last  rambles  in  that  country,  where  he  had  painted 
several  portraits  in  a  small  village  of  Dahcotas,  the  chief  of  the  band 
positively  refused  to  sit ;  alleging  as  his  objection  that  the  pale  faces,  who 
were  not  to  be  trusted,  might  do  some  injury  to  his  portrait,  and  his 
health  or  his  life  might  be  affected  by  it.  The  painter,  as  he  was  about 
to  saddle  his  horse  for  his  departure,  told  the  Indian  that  he  was  a  Saga- 
nosh, and  was  going  across  the  Big  Salt  Lake,  and  was  very  sorry  that 
he  could  not  carry  the  picture  of  so  distinguished  a  man.  At  this  intel- 
ligence the  Indian  advanced,  and  after  a  hearty  grip  of  the  hand,  very 
carefully  and  deliberately  withdrew  from  his  bosom,  and  next  to  his  naked 
breast,  a  large  silver  medal,  and  turning  his  face  to  the  painter,  pro- 
nounced with  great  vehemence  and  emphasis  the  word  Sag-a-noshI 
The  artist  supposing  that  he  had  thus  gained  his  point  with  the  Indian 
Sagamore,  was  making  preparation  to  proceed  with  his  work,  when  the 
Indian  still  firmly  denied  him  the  privilege—holding  up  the  face  of  his 
Majesty  (which  had  got  a  superlative  brightness  by  having  been  worn 
for  years  against  his  naked  breast),  he  made  this  singular  and  significant 
■peech: — 'When  you  cross  the  Big  Salt  Lake,  tell  my  Great  Father 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


659 


•'  If  the  white  men  take  away  a  piece  of  the  red  pipe  stone 
it  is  a  hole  made  in  our  flesh,  and  the  blood  will  always 
run.    We  cannot  stop  the  blood  from  running.    ('How, 
howl') 

"  The  Great  Spirit  has  told  us  that  the  red  stone  is  only 
to  be  used  for  pipes,  and  through  them  we  are  to  smoke  to 
him.    ('Howl") 

"  Why  do  the  white  men  want  to  get  there  ?  You  have 
no  good  object  in  view ;  we  know  you  have  none,  and  the 
sooner  you  go  back  the  better."    ("  How,  how  1") 

Muz-za  (the  iron)  spoke  next. 

**  My  friends,  we  do  not  wish  to  harm  you ;  you  have 
heard  the  words  of  our  chief  men,  and  you  now  see  that 
you  must  go  back.  ('  How,  how  I') 

"  Tchan-dee-pah-sJia-kah-free  (the  red  pipe  stone)  was  given 
to  us  by  the  Great  Spirit,  and  no  one  need  ask  the  price  of 
it,  for  it  is  medicine.    ('  How  how  1') 

that  yoa  saw  his  face,  and  it  was  bright  1'  To  this  the  painter  replied, 
'  I  can  never  see  your  Great  Father,  he  is  dead  I'  The  poor  Indian 
recoiled  in  silence,  and  returned  his  medal  to  his  bosom,  entered  his 
vigwam,  at  a  few  paces  distant,  where  he  seated  himself  amidst  his 
family  around  his  fire,  and  deliberately  lighting  his  pipe,  passed  it  around 
in  silence. 

"  When  it  was  smoked  out,  he  told  them  the  news  he  had  heard,  and 
in  a  few  moments  returned  to  the  traveller  again,  who  was  preparing: 
with  his  party  to  mount  their  horses,  and  enquired  whether  the  Saga- 
noshes  had  no  chief.  The  artist  replied  in  the  affirmative,  saying  that 
the  present  chief  of  the  Saganoshes  is  a  young  and  very  beautiful  tooman. 
The  Sa"imore  expressed  great  surprise  and  some  incredulity  at  this 
unaccountable  information ;  and  being  fully  assured  by  the  companions 
of  the  artist  that  his  assertion  was  true,  the  Indian  returned  again  quite 
hastily  to  his  wigwam,  called  his  own  and  the  neighbouring  families  into 
his  presence,  lit  and  smoked  another  pipe,  and  then  communicated  the 
intelligence  to  them,  to  their  great  surprise  and  amusement;  after 
which  he  walked  out  to  the  party  about  to  start  off*,  and  advancing  to 
the  painter  (or  Great  Medicine  as  they  called  him),  with  a  sarcastic 
smile  on  his  face,  in  due  form,  and  with  much  grace  and  effect,  he  care- 
fully withdrew  again  from  his  bosom  the  polished  silver  medal,  and 
turning  the  face  to  the  painter,  said, '  Tell  my  Oreat  Mother,  that  yon 
saw  our  Great  Father,  and  that  we  keep  his  face  bright  1' " 


r*E 


«w 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


"  My  friends,  I  believe  what  you  have  told  us ;  I  think 
your  intentions  are  good ;  but  our  chiefs  have  always  told 
us,  that  no  white  man  was  allowed  to  go  there — and  you 
cannot  go."    (*  How,  how !') 

Another. — "  My  friends,  you  see  I  am  a  young  man ;  you 
see  on  my  war  club  two  scalps  from  my  enemies'  heads ; 
my  hands  have  been  dipped  in  blood,  but  I  am  a  good 
man.  I  am  a  friend  to  the  whites,  to  the  traders :  and  they 
are  your  friends.  I  bring  them  three  thousand  muskrat 
skins  every  year,  which  I  catch  in  my  own  traps.  ('  How, 
?iow!') 

"  We  love  to  go  to  the  Pipe-stone,  and  get  a  piece  for 
our  pipes ;  but  we  ask  the  Great  Spirit  first.  If  the  white 
men  go  to  it,  they  will  take  it  out,  and  not  fill  up  the  holes 
again,  and  the  Great  Spirit  will  be  offended."    ("  How,  how, 

how  1") 

Another. — "My  friends  listen  to  mel  what  I  am  to  say 
will  be  the  truth.    ('  How !') 

*•  I  brought  a  large  piece  of  the  pipe  stone,  and  gave  it 
to  a  white  man  to  make  a  pipe ;  he  was  our  trader  and  I 
wished  him  to  have  a  good  pipe.  The  next  time  I  went  to 
his  store,  I  was  unhappy  when  I  saw  that  stone  made  into 
a  dish  1    CEnghl') 

*•  This  is  the  way  the  white  men  would  use  the  red  pipe 
stone,  if  they  could  get  it.  Such  conduct  would  offend  the 
Great  Spirit,  and  make  a  red  man's  heart  sick.    ('How, 

how.') 

•'  Brothers,  we  do  not  wish  to  harm  you — if  you  turn  about 
and  go  back,  you  will  be  well,  both  you  and  your  horses— 
you  cannot  go  forward.    (*  How,  how  1*) 

"  We  know  that  if  you  go  to  the  pipe  stone,  the  Great 
Spirit  looks  upon  you — the  white  people  do  not  think  ol 
that.    ('How,  howl*) 

"  I  have  no  more  to  say." 

These  and  a  dozen  other  speeches  to  the  same  effect 
having  been  pronounced,!  replied  in  the  following  manner: 

•'  jify  friends,  you  have  entirely  mistaken  us ;  we  are  no 


given 
"H. 

preser^ 
to  keef 
"Ho 
"Bu( 
think  oJ 
Anotl 
"Whi 
some  obj 
go — ^you 
back  the  I 
it—if  yo 

('How,  h| 
DurinjE 

^s  by, ; 

putting  h\ 
to  him,  at| 
or  that  he 
^as  done,! 
ahead,  yfl 
horses  anj 
before  ded 
I-e  BJaj 
snd  treaci 
^peatedlj 
^ould  takj 
but  we  he/ 
On  our 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


661 


officers,  nor  are  we  sent  by  any  one — the  white  men  do  not 
want  the  red  pipe — it  is  not  worth  their  carrying  home  so 
far,  if  you  were  to  give  it  all  to  them.  Another  thing, 
they  don't  use  pipes — they  don't  know  how  to  smoke 
them."  .         .  t  , 

"  How,  how !" 

^^My  friends,  I  think  as  you  do,  that  the  Great  Spirit  haa 
given  that  place  to  the  red  men  for  th'  ir  pipes." 
"How,  how,  howl"  '  /  ^ 

*'  I  give  you  great  credit  for  the  course  you  are  taking  to 
preserve  and  protect  it ;  and  I  will  do  as  much  as  any  man 
to  keep  white  men  from  taking  it  away  from  you." 
"  How,  how  I"  ,       ,  ,     . 

"  But  we  have  started  to  go  and  see  it ;  and  we  cannot 
think  of  being  stopped." 
Another  rose  (interrupting  me)  : — 
"  White  men  1  your  words  are  very  smooth ;  you  have 
some  object  in  view  or  you  would  not  be  so  determined  to 
go — you  have  no  good  design,  and  the  quicker  you  turn 
back  the  better :  there  is  no  use  of  talking  any  more  about 
it — if  you  think  best  to  go,  try  it ;  that's  all  I  have  to  say." 
('  How,  how  1') 

During  this  scene,  the  son  of  Monsr.  Le  Blanc  was  stand- 
ing by,  and  seeing  this  man  threatening  me  so  hard  by 
putting  his  fist  near  my  face ;  he  several  times  stepped  up 
to  him,  and  told  him  to  stand  back  at  a  respectful  distance, 
or  that  he  would  knock  him  down.  After  their  speaking 
was  done,  I  made  a  few  remarks,  stating  that  we  should  go 
ahead,  which  we  did  the  next  morning,  by  saddling  our 
horses  and  riding  off  through  the  midst  of  them,  as  I  have 
before  described. 

Le  Blanc  told  us,  that  these  were  the  most  disorderly 
and  treacherous  part  of  the  Sioux  nation,  that  they  had 
repeatedly  threatened  his  life,  and  that  he  expected  they 
would  take  it.  He  advised  us  to  go  back  as  they  ordered ; 
but  we  heeded  not  his  advice. 
On  our  way  we  were  notified  at  several  of  their  villages 


411: 


;^^4  i 


ih^ 


I' 
m 


I 


^l^H 


fii 


662 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


which  we  passed,  that  we  must  go  back ;  but  we  proceeded 
on,  aod  over  a  beautiful  prairie  country,  of  one  hundred 
miles  or  more,  when  our  Indian  guide  brought  us  to  the 
trading-house  of  an  old  acquaintance  of  mine.  Monsieur 
La  Fromboise,  who  lives  very  comfortably,  and  in  the 
employment  of  the  American  Fur  Company,  near  the  base 
of  the  C6teau,  and  forty  or  fifty  miles  from  the  Pipe  Stone- 
Quarry. 

"We  rode  up  unexpectedly,  and  at  fall  gallop,  to  his  door, 
when  he  met  us  and  addressed  us  as  follows : — 

"  Ha  I  Monsr.  how  do  you  do  ? — Quoi  1  ha,  est  ce  vous, 
Moosr.  Cataline — est  il  possible?  Qui,  oui,  vraiment  le 
meme — mon  ami,  Cataline^-comment  se  va-t-il  ?  et  combien 
(pardon  me  though,  for  I  can  speak  English).  How  have 
you  been  since  I  saw  you  last  season  ?  and  how,  under 
Heaven,  have  you  wandered  into  this  wild  region,  so  far 
from  civilization?  Dismount,  dismount,  gentlemen,  and 
you  are  welcome  to  the  comforts,  such  as  they  are,  of  my 
little  cabin." 

*'  Monsr.  La  Fromboise,  allow  me  to  introduce  to  your 
acquaintance,  my  friend  and  travelling  companion,  Mr. 
Wood,  of  England." 

*'  Monsr.  Wood,  I  am  happy  to  see  you,  and  I  hope  yon 
will  make  allowances  for  the  rudeness  of  my  cabin,  and 
the  humble  manner  in  which  I  shall  entertain  you." 

"  I  assure  you,  my  dear  sir,  that  no  apology  is  necessary ; 
for  your  house  looks  as  delightful  as  a  palace,  to  Mr.  Catlin 
and  myself  who  have  so  long  been  tenants  of  the  open  air." 

"  Gentlemen,  walk  in ;  we  are  surrounded  with  red  folks 
here,  and  you  will  be  looked  upon  by  them  with  great 
surprise." 

"  That's  what  we  want  to  see  exactly.  Catlin !  that's 
fine — oh  I  how  lucky  we  are." 

"  Well,  gentlemen,  walk  into  the  other  room ;  you  see  I 
have  two  rooms  to  my  hous3  (or  rather  cabin),  but  they 
are  small  and  unhandy.  Such  as  I  have  shall  be  at  your 
service  heartily  ;  and  I  assure  you,  gentlemen,  that  this  is 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


663 


the  happiest  moment  of  my  life.  I  cannot  give  you  feather 
beds  to  sleep  on ;  but  I  have  a  plenty  of  new  robes,  and  you, 
at  all  events,  Monsr.  Cataline,  know  by  this  time  how  to 
make  a  bed  of  them.  We  can  give  you  plenty  of  buffaloe 
meat,  buflfaloe  tongues,  wild  geese,  ducks,  prairie  hens, 
venison,  trout,  young  swan,  beaver  tails,  pigeons,  plums, 
grapes,  young  bear,  some  green  corn,  squash,  onions,  water 
melons,  and  pommos  des  terres,  some  coffee  and  some  tea." 

"  My  good  friend,  one-half  or  one-third  of  these  things 
(which  are  all  luxuries  to  us)  would  render  us  happy ;  put 
yourself  to  no  trouble  on  our  account,  and  we  shall  be  per- 
fectly happy  under  your  roof." 

"  I  am  very  sorry,  gentlemen,  that  I  cannot  treat  you  as 
I  would  be  glad  to  do ;  but  you  must  make  up  for  these 
things  if  you  are  fond  of  sporting,  for  there  are  plenty  of 
buffiiloes  about ;  at  a  little  distance  the  prairies  are  speckled 
with  them ;  and  our  prairies  and  lakes  abound  with  myriads 
of  prairie-hens,  ducks,  geese  and  swans.  You  shall  make 
me  a  long  visit,  gentlemen,  and  we  will  have  sport  in  abun- 
dance. I  assure  you  that  I  shall  be  perfectly  happy  whilst 
you  are  with  me.  Pardon  me  a  little,  while  I  order  you 
some  dinner,  and  attend  to  some  Indians  who  are  in  my 
store,  trading,  and  taking  their  fall  credits." 

"That's  a  fine  fellow  I'll  engage  you,"  said  my  com 
pannn. 

"  Yg3.  he  is  all  that.  I  have  known  him  before ;  he  is  a 
gentleman,  and  a  polished  one  too,  every  ounce  of  him. 
You  see  in  this  instance  how  durable  and  lasting  are  the 
manners  of  a  true  gentleman,  and  how  little  a  life- time  of 
immersion  in  the  wilderness,  amid  the  reckless  customs  of 
savage  life,  will  extinguish  or  efface  them.  I  could  name  you 
a  number  of  such,  whose  surface  seems  covered  with  a  dross, 
which  once  rubbed  off,  shows  a  polish  brighter  than  ever.'* 

We  spent  a  day  or  two  very  pleasantly  with  this  fine  and 
hospitable  fellow,  until  we  had  rested  from  the  fatigue  of 
our  journey ;  when  he  very  kindly  joined  us  with  fresh 
horses  and  piloted  us  to  the  Pipe  Stone-Quarry,  where  he 


i  li! 


664 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


is  now  encamped  with  us,  a  jolly  companionable  man,  and 
familiar  with  most  of  the  events  and  traditions  of  this 
strange  place,  which  he  has  visited  on  former  occasions.* 

La  Fromboise  has  some  good  Indian  blood  in  his  vein.«, 
and  from  his  modes  of  life,  as  well  as  from  a  natural  passion 
that  seems  to  belong  to  the  French  adventurers  in  these 
wild  regions,  he  has  a  great  relish  for  songs  and  stories,  of 
which  he  gives  us  many,  and  much  pleasure ;  and  furnishes 
us  one  of  the  most  amusing  and  gentlemanly  companions 
that  could  possibly  be  found.  My  friend  "Wood  sings 
delightfully,  also,  and  as  I  cannot  sing,  but  can  tell,  now 
and  then,  a  story,  with  tolerable  effect,  we  manage  to  pass 
away  our  evenings,  in  our  humble  bivouack,  over  our  buf- 
faloe  meat  and  prairie  hens,  with  much  fun  and  amusement. 
In  these  nocturnal  amusements,  I  have  done  my  part,  by 
relating  anecdotes  of  my  travels  on  the  Missouri,  and  other 
parts  of  the  Indian  country,  which  I  have  been  over ;  and 
occasionally  reading  from  my  note-book  some  of  the  amu 
sing  entries  I  had  formerly  made  in  it,  but  never  have  had 
time  to  transcribe  for  the  world. 

As  I  can't  write  music,  and  can  (in  my  own  way)  write  a 
story,  tbe  readers  will  acquit  me  of  egotism  or  partiality,  in 
reporting  only  my  own  part  of  the  entertainments ;  which 
was  generally  the  mere  reading  a  story  or  two  from  my 
notes  which  I  have  with  me,  or  relating  some  of  the  incidents 
of  life  which  my  old  travelling  companion  "i?aiwte"  and  I 
had  witnessed  in  former  years. 

Of  these,  I  read  one  last  evening,  that  pleased  my  good 
friend  La  Fromboise  so  exceedingly,  that  I  am  constrained 
to  copy  it  into  my  Letter  and  send  it  home. 

This  amusing  story  is  one  that  my  man  Ba'tiste  used  to 
tell  to  Bogard,  and  others  with  great  zest;  describing  his 
adventure  one  night,  in  endeavouring  to  procure  a  medicine- 

*  This  gentleman,  the  sammcr  previons  to  this,  while  I  was  in  company 
with  him  at  Prairie  du  Chien,  gave  re  a  very  graphic  account  of  the  Red 
Pipe  Stone-Quarry,  and  made  for  me,  from  recollection,  a  chart  of  it, 
which  I  yet  possess,  and  which  was  drawn  with  great  accuracy. 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


665 


bag,  which  I  had  employed  him  to  obtain  for  me  op  the 
Upper  Missouri ;  and  he  used  to  prelude  it  thus : — 
*'  Je  commenoe — " 

•*  Dam  your  commonce,  (said  Bogard),  tell  it  in  English — " 
"  Pardon,  Monsieur,  en  Americaine — " 
"  Well,  American  then,  if  you  please ;  anything  but  your 
darned  ^parUz  v<ma!  " 

"  Bien,  excusez — now  Monsieur  Bogard,  you  must  know 
first  place,  de  ^Medicine- Bags '  is  mere  humbug,  he  is  no  med- 
icine in  him — no  pills ;  he  is  someting  mysterieux.  Some 
witchcraft,  suppose.  You  must  know  que  tons  les  sauvages 
have  such  tings  about  him  pour  for  good  luck.  Ce  n'est 
que  (parddn)  it  is  only  Jwcus  pocus  to  keep  off  witch,  sfippose. 
You  must  know  ces  articles  can  nevare  be  sold,  of  course 
you  see  dey  cannot  be  buy.  So  my  friend  here,  Monsieur 
Cataline,  who  have  collect  all  de  curiositds  des  pays  sau- 
vages, avait  made  strong  applique  to  me  pour  for  to  get  one 
of  dese  medicine-bags  for  his  Collection  curieux,  et  I  had, 
pour  moimeme,  le  curiosity  extreme  pour  for  to  see  des 
quelques  choses  ces  ^tranges  looking  tings  was  composi. 

"I  had  learned  much  of  dese  strange  custom,  c  -■<'■.  1  snow 
wen  de  Ingin  die,  his  medicine-bags  is  buried  wis  him. 

"Oui,  Monsieur,  so  it  never  can  be  got  by  any  boday. 
Bien.  I  hap  to  tink  one  day  wen  we  was  live  in  do  mous  of 
Yellow  Stone,  now  is  time  and  I  avait  said  to  Monsieur  Cata- 
line, que  pensez  vous  ?  Kon-te-wonda  (un  des  chefs  du)  (par- 
ddn,  one  of  de  chiefs,  of  de  Knisteneux)  has  die  td-day.  II 
avait  une  medicine  bag  magnifique,  et  extremement  curieux ; 
il  est  composfe  d'un,  it  is  made  (parddn,  si  vous  plait)  of  de 
wite  wolf  skin,  ornement  et  stuff  wid  tousand  tings  wich 
we  shall  see,  ha  ?  Good  luck  1  Suppose  Monsieur  Cata- 
line, I  have  seen  him  just  now.  I  av  see  de  medicine-bag 
laid  on  his  breast  avec  his  hands  crossed  ovare  it.  Que 
pensez  vous  ?  I  can  get  him  to-night,  ha  ?  If  you  will 
keep  him,  if  you  shall  not  tell,  ha?  'Tip  no  harm — 'tis  no 
steal— he  is  dead,  ha?  Well,  you  shall  see.  But  would 
you  not  be  afraid,  Ba'tiste,  (said  Monsieur  Cataline),  to  take 


■Ml 


S  ':'■ 


666 


LBTTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


from  (lis  poor  fellow  his  medicines  (or  mysteries)  on  which 
he  has  rest  all  his  hopes  in  dis  world,  and  de  world  to  come? 
PardcJn,  jo  n'ai  pas  peur ;  non,  Monsieur,  ne  rien  de  peur. 
I  nevare  saw  ghost — I  have  not  fear,  mais,  suppose,  it  is  not 
right,  dxact;  but  I  have  grand  disposition  pour  for  to 
obligd  my  friend,  et  le  ouriositd  moimeme,  pour  to  see  wat 
it  is  made  of;  suppose  t<5-night  I  shall  go,  ha?  'Well, 
Ba'tiste,  I  have  no  objection  (said  Monsieur  Cataline)  if 
your  heart  does  not  fail  you,  for  I  will  be  very  glada  to 
get  him,  and  will  make  you  a  handsome  present  tor  it, 
but  I  think  it  will  be  a  cold  and  gloomy  kind  of  business.' 
Nevare  mind,  Monsieur  Cataline  (I  said)  provide  he  is  well 
dead,  perfect  dead ;  Well,  I  ave  see  les  Knistcneux  when 
dey  ave  bury  de  chap — I  ave  watch  close,  and  I  ave  see 
how  de  medicine-bags  was  put.  It  was  fix  pretty  tight  by 
some  cord  around  his  bellay,  and  den  some  skins  was  wrap 
many  times  dround  him — he  was  put  down  in  de  hole  dug 
for  him,  and  some  flat  stones  and  some  little  dirt  was  laid 
on  him,  only  till  next  day,  wen  some  grand  cercmonays 
was  to  be  perform  ovare  him,  and  den  de  hole  was  to  be 
fill  up ;  now  was  de  only  time  possibe  for  de  medicine-hag, 
ha?  I  ave  very  pretty  little  wife  at  dat  times,  Asaineboin 
squaw,  and  we  sleep  in  one  of  de  stores  inside  of  de  Fort, 
de  Trade-house,  you  know,  ha  ? 

*'  So  you  may  s6ppose  I  was  all  de  day  perplex  to  know 
how  I  should  go,  somebody  may  watch — suppose,  he  may 
not  be  dead !  not  quite  dead,  ha  ?  nevare  mind — le  jour  was 
bien  long,  et  le  nuit  dismal,  dismal/  oh  by  gar  it  was  dis- 
mal! plien,  plien  (parddn)  full  of  apprehension,  mais  sans 
peur,  je  rCavais  pas  peur  1  So  some  time  aftere  midnights, 
wen  it  was  bout  right  time  pour  go,  I  made  start,  very 
light,  so  my  wife  must  not  wake.  Oh  diable  I'imagination ! 
quel  solitude  I  well,  I  have  go  very  well  yet,  I  am  pass  de 
door,  and  I  am  pass  de  gate,  and  I  am  at  lengts  arrive  at  de 
grave !  suppose  '  now  Ba'tiste,  courage,  courage  I  now  is  de 
times  come.'  Well,  suppose,  I  am  not  fraid  of  dead  man, 
mais,  perhaps,  dese  medicine-bag  is  give  by  de  Grande 


Ea 

kci 

lau 

lo; 

my 

Ba'l 

med 

lav 

cont 

Wei 

coun 

ave  i 

until 

of  de 

seize  i 

in  one 

two  e^ 

eughi; 

it  will 

Ba'tist( 

arms  ti 

Vierge 

miserai 

fool  to 

me  so: 

Ba'tisti 

suis  ce: 

not  pos, 

Grand 

do  not 

est  ce 

Willow 

you  go 

"Wei 
told;  I 
bag?" 

"Noi 


NORTH  AMKRICiy  INDIANS. 


667 


Esprit  to  de  lugin  for  somcting  ?  possible  1  I  will  let  him 
keep  it.    I  shall  go  back  I    No,  Monsieur  Cataliae  will 
laughs  at  me.    I  must  have  him,  ma  foi,  mou  courage !  so 
I  climb  down  very  careful  into  de  grave,  mais,  as  I  duscend, 
my  heart  rise  up  into  my  mouse !  Oh  mon  Dieu  1  courage 
Ba'tisto,  courage !  oe  n'est  pas  Vhomme  dat  I  fear,  mais  le 
medicine^  le  medicine.    So  den  I  ave  lift  out  de  large  stones, 
I  ave  put  out  my  head  in  de  dark,  and  I  ave  look  all  do 
contre  round ;  ne  personne,  ne  personne — no  bod&  in  sight  I 
Well,  I  ave  got  softly  down  on  my  knees  ovare  him,  (oh, 
courage  1  courage!  oui)  and  wen  I  ave  unwrap  de  robe,  I 
ave  all  de  time  say,  'pardon,  courage  1  pardon,  courage! 
until  I  ad  got  de  skins  all  off  de  bod^ ;  I  ave  den  take  hold 
of  de  cord  to  untie,  mais ! !  (dans  I'instant)  two  cold  hands 
seize  me  by  de  wrists  1  and  I  was  just  dead — I  was  petrifact 
in  one  instant.    Oh  St.  Esprit !  I  could  just  see  in  de  dark 
two  eyes  glaring  like  fire  sur  upon  me!    and  den,  (oh 
eugh  1 )  it  spoke  to  me,  '  Who  are  you  ?'  (Sacr6,  vengeance  1 
it  will  not  do  to  deceive  him,  no,)  *  I  am  fia'tiste,  poor 
Ba'tiste  1'  *  Then  thou  art  surely  mine,  (as  he  clenched  both 
arms  tight  around  my  boday)  lie  still  Ba'tiste.'    Oh,  holy 
Vierge  1  St.  Esprit !    0  mon  Dieu !    I  could  not  breathe  1 
miserable  1  je  sui  perdu !  oh  pourquoi  have  I  been  such 
fool  to  get  into  dese  cold,  cold  arms!  'Ba'tiste?  (drawing 
me  some  tighter  and  tighter!)  do  you  not  belong  to  me, 
Ba'tiste?'  Yes,  suppose !  ohdiablel  belong?    Oui,  oui,  je 
suis  certainment  perdu,  lost,  lost,  for  evare !    Oh  I  can  you 
not  possible  let  me  gof  'No  Ba'tiste,  we  must  never  part.' 
Grand  Dieu !  c'est  finis,  finis,  finis  avec  moi !    '  Then  you 
do  not  love  me  any  more.  Ba'tiste?'    Quel !  quoi !  what!! 
est  ce  vous,  Wee-ne-on-ka  f    '  Yes,  Ba'tiste,  it  is  the  Bending 
Wilhw  who  holds  you,  she  that  loves  you  and  will  not  let 

you  go  ?  Are  you  dreaming  Ba'tiste?'  Oui,  diable, !" 

"  Well,  Ba'tiste,  that's  a  very  good  story,  and  very  well 
told ;  I  presume  you  never  tried  again  to  get  a  medicine- 
bag?" 
"Non,  Monsieur  Bogard,  je  vous  assure,  I  was  satisfy  wis 


668 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


de  mistakes  dat  night,  pour  for  jo  crois  qu'il  fut  TEsprit,  le 
Grand  Esprit." 

After  this  my  entertaining  companions  sung  several 
amusing  songs,  and  then  called  upon  mo  for  another  story. 
Which  Mr.  Wood  had  already  heard  me  tell  several  times, 
and  which  he  particularly  called  for ;  as 

"THE  STORY  OP  THE  DOG," 

and  which  I  began  as  follows : — 

"  Well,  some  time  ago,  when  I  was  drifting  down  the 
mighty  Missouri,  in  a  little  canoe,  with  two  hired  men, 
Bogard  and  Ba'tiste,  (and  in  this  manner  did  we  glide 
along)  amid  all  the  pretty  scenes  and  ugly,  that  decked  the 
banks  of  that  river,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Yellow  Stone,  to 
St.  Louis,  a  distance  of  only  two  thousand  miles ;  Bogard 
and  Ba'tiste  plied  their  paddles  and  I  steered,  amid  snag  and 
sand-bar — amongst  drift  logs  and  herds  of  swimming  buf- 
faloes— our  beds  were  uniformly  on  the  grass,  or  upon 
some  barren  beach,  which  we  often  chose,  to  avoid  the 
suffocating  clouds  of  musquitoes ;  our  fire  was  (by  the  way 


PRAIRIE  W0LTX8. 


we  had  none  at  night)  kindled  at  sundown,  under  some 
towering  bluffs — our  supper  cooked  and  eaten,  and  we  off 
again,  floating  some  four  or  five  miles  after  nightfall,  when 


NORTH    AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


669 


our  oaioe  was  lautLd  at  random,  on  some  unknown  shore. 
In  whisporinjj  silenco  and  darkness  our  buffalo  robes  wero 
drawn  out  and  spread  upon  the  gra^s,  and  our  bodies 
stretched  upon  them ;  our  pistols  were  belted  to  our  sides 
and  our  rifles  always  slept  in  our  arms.  In  this  way  wo 
were  encamped,  and  another  robe  drawn  over  us,  head  and 
foot,  under  which  our  iron  slumbers  were  secure  from  the 
tread  of  all  foes,  saving  that  of  the  sneaking  gangs  of 
wolves,  who  were  nightly  seronaling  us  with  their  harmo- 
nics, and  often  quarreling  for  the  privilege  of  chewing  oft 
the  corners  of  the  robe,  which  served  us  as  a  blanket 


TBI  OBIZZLT  B.     B. 

'Caleb'  (the  grizzly  bear)  was  often  there  too,  leaving  the 
print  of  his  deep  impressed  footsteps  where  he  had  peram- 
bulated, reconnoitering,  though  not  disturbing  us.  Our 
food  was  simply  buffalo  meat  from  day  to  day,  and  from 
morning  till  night,  for  coffee  and  bread  we  had  not.  The 
fleece  (hump)  of  a  fat  cow,  was  the  luxury  of  luxuries ;  and 
for  it  we  would  step  ashore,  or  as  often  level  our  rifles  upon 
the  '  slickest '  of  the  herds  from  our  canoe,  as  they  were 
grazing  upon  the  banks.    Sometimes  the  antelope,  the 


^1 


670 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


mountain-sheep,  and  also  the  stately  elk  contributed  the 
choicest  cuts  for  our  little  larder ;  and  at  others,  while  in 
the  vicinity  of  war-parties,  where  we  dared  not  to  fire  our 
guns,  our  boat  was  silently  steered  into  some  little  cove  or 
eddy,  our  hook  and  line  dipped,  and  we  trusted  to  the  bite 
of  a  cat-fish  for  our  suppers ;  if  we  got  him,  he  was  some- 
times too  large  and  tough;  and  if  we  got  him  not,  we 
would  swear,  (not  at  all)  and  go  to  bed. 

"  Our  meals  were  generally  cooked  and  eaten  on  piles  of 
driftwood,  where  our  fire  was  easily  kindled,  and  a  peeled 
log  (which  we  generally  straddled)  did  admirably  well  for 
a  seat,  and  a  table  to  eat  from. 

"  In  this  manner  did  we  glide  away  from  day  to  day, 
with  anecdote  and  fun  to  shorten  the  time,  and  just  enough 
of  the  spice  of  danger  to  give  vigour  to  our  stomachs,  and 
keenness  to  our  appetites — making  and  meeting  accident 
and  incident  sufl&cient  for  a  '  book.'  Two  hundred  miles 
from  the  mouth  of  Yellow  Stone  brought  us  to  the  village 
of  the  kind  and  gentlemanly  Mandans.  With  them  I  lived 
some  time — was  welcomed — taken  gracefully  by  the  arm, 
by  their  plumed  dignitaries,  and  feasted  in  their  hospitable 
lodges.  Much  have  I  already  said  of  these  people,  and  more 
of  them,  a  great  deal,  I  may  say  at  a  future  day ;  but  now, 
to  our  ^  story!  As  preamble,  however,  having  launched 
our  light  canoe  at  the  Mandan  village,  shook  hands  with 
the  chiefs  and  braves,  and  took  the  everlasting  farewell 
glance  at  those  models,  which  I  wept  to  turn  from ;  we 
dipped  our  paddles,  and  were  again  gliding  off  upon  the 
mighty  water,  on  our  way  to  St.  Louis.  "We  travelled  fast, 
and  just  as  the  village  of  the  Mandans,  and  the  bold 
promontory  on  which  it  stands,  were  changing  to  blue,  and 
*  dwindling  into  nothing,'  we  heard  the  startling  yells,  and 
saw  in  distance  behind  us,  the  troop  that  was  gaining  upon 
us  I  their  red  shoulders  were  bounding  over  the  grassy  bluffs 
— their  hands  extended,  and  robes  waving  with  signals  for 
US  to  stop  !  In  a  few  moments  they  were  opposite  to  us  ou 
the  bank,  and  I  steered  my  boat  to  the  shore.    They  were 


a 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


m 


arranged  for  my  reception,  with  amazement  and  orders  im- 
perative stamped  on  every  brow.  *  Mi-neek-e-sunk-to-ka' 
(the  mink),  they  exclamed,  'is  dying  1  the  picture  you 
made  of  her  is  too  much  like  her — ^you  put  so  much  of  her 
into  it,  that  when  your  boat  took  it  away  from  our  village, 
it  drew  a  part  of  her  life  away  with  it — she  is  bleeding  from 
her  mouth— she  is  puking  up  all  her  blood ;  by  taking  that 
away,  you  are  drawing  the  strings  out  of  her  heart,  and 
they  will  soon  break ;  we  must  take  her  picture  back,  and 
then  she  will  get  well — ^your  medicine  is  great,  it  is  too 
great;  but  we  wish  you  well.'  Mr.  Kipp,  their  Trader, 
came  with  the  party,  and  interpreted  as  above.  I  unrolled 
my  bundle  of  portraits,  and  though  I  was  unwilling  to  part 
with  it  (for  she  was  a  beautiful  girl),  yet  I  placed  it  in  their 
hands,  telling  them  that  I  wished  her  well;  and  I  was 
exceedingly  glad  to  get  my  boat  peaceably  under  way  again, 
and  into  the  current,  having  taken  another  and  everlasting 
shake  of  the  hands.  They  rode  back  at  full  speed  with  the 
portrait ;  but  intelligence  which  I  have  since  received  from 
there,  informs  me  that  the  girl  died ;  and  that  I  am  forever 
to  be  considered  as  the  cause  of  her  misfortunes.  This  is 
not  the  '  story,^  however,  but  I  will  tell  it  as  soon  as  I  can 
come  to  it.  We  dropped  off",  and  down  the  rolling  current 
again,  from  day  to  day,  until  at  length  the  curling  smoke  of 
the  Riccarees  announced  their  village  in  view  before  us  ! 

"We  trembled  and  quaked,  for  all  boats  not  stoutly 
armed,  steal  by  them  in  the  dead  of  night.  We  muffled  our 
paddles,  and  instantly  dropped  under  some  willows,  where 
we  listened  to  the  yelping,  barking  rabble,  until  sable  night 
had  drawn  her  curtain  around  (though  it  was  not  sahle,  for 
the  moon  arose,  to  our  great  mortification  and  alarm,  in  full 
splendour  and  brightness),  when,  at  eleven  o'clock,  we  put 
out  to  the  middle  of  the  stream — silenced  our  paddles,  and 
trusted  to  the  current  to  waft  us  by  them.  We  lay  close 
in  our  boat  with  a  pile  of  green  bushes  over  us,  making  us 
nothing  in  the  world  but  a  '  floating  tree-top.'  On  the 
bank,  in  front  of  the  village,  was  enacting  at  that  moment, 


1*11 


672 


LETl'EBS  AXD  NOTES  ON  THE 


a  scene  of  the  most  frightful  and  thrilling  nature.  An 
hundred  torches  were  swung  about  in  all  directions,  giving 
us  a  full  view  of  the  group  that  were  assembled,  and  some 
fresh  scalps  were  hung  on  poles,  and  were  then  going 
through  the  nightly  ceremony  that  is  performed  about  them 
for  a  certain  number  of  nights,  composed  of  the  frightful 
and  appalling  shrieks,  and  yells,  and  gesticulations  of  the 
scalp-dance.  * 

"  In  addition  to  this  multitude  of  demons  (as  they  looked), 
there  were  some  hundreds  of  cackling  women  and  girls 
bathing  in  the  river  on  the  edge  of  a  sand-bar,  at  the  lower 
end  of  the  village ;  at  which  place  the  stream  drifted  our 
small  craft  in,  close  to  the  shore,  till  the  moon  lit  their 
shoulders,  their  foreheads,  chins,  noses  I  and  they  stood, 
half-merged,  like  mermaids,  and  gazed  upon  us  I  singing 
'  Chee-na-see-nun,  chee-na-see-nun  ke-mon-shoo  Icee-ne-he-na,  ha- 
way-tah?  shee-sha,  shee-shaf  'How  do  you  do,  how  do  you 
do  ?  where  are  you  going,  old  tree  ?  Come  here,  come  here.' 
*  Lah-kee-hoon  I  lah-kee-hoon  !  natoh,  catogh  /'  ('  A  canoe,  a 
canoe !  see  the  paddle ! !')  In  a  moment  the  songs  were 
stopped  I  the  lights  were  out — the  village  in  an  instant  was 
in  darkness,  and  dogs  were  muzzled  1  and  nimbly  did  our 
paddles  ply  the  water,  till  spy-glass  told  us  at  morning's 
dawn,  that  the  bank  and  boundless  prairies  of  grass  and 
green  that  were  all  around  us  were  free  from  following  foot- 
steps of  friend  or  foe.  A  sleepless  night  had  passed,  and 
lightly  tripped  our  bark,  and  swift,  over  the  swimming  tide 
during  that  day ;  which  was  one,  not  of  pleasure,  but  of 
trembling  excitement ;  while  our  eyes  were  continually 
scanning  the  distant  scenes  that  were  behind  us,  and  our 
muscles  throwing  us  forward  with  tireless  energy. 


*  But  a  few  weeks  before  I  left  the  mouth  of  Yellow  Stone,  the  news 
arrived  at  that  place,  that  a  party  of  trappers  and  traders  had  burnt  two 
Kiccarees  to  death,  on  the  prairies,  and  M'Kenzie  advised  me  not  to 
Btop  at  the  Riccarce  village,  but  to  pass  them  in  the  night ;  and  after 
I  had  got  some  hundreds  of  miles  below  them,  I  learned  that  they  were 
dancing  two  white  men's  scalps  taken  in  revenge  for  that  inhuman  act. 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


673 


*  *        *'  Night  came  upon  us  again,  and  we  landed 

at  the  foot  of  a  towering  blufi^  where  the  musquitoes  met  ua 
with  ten  thousand  kicks  and  cu£&,  and  importunities,  until 
we  were  choked  and  strangled  into  almost  irrevocable  de- 
spair and  madness.* 

•'  A  '  snaggy  tend''  announced  \^&  vicinity  just  below  us  by 
its  roaring ;  and  hovering  night  told  us,  that  we  could  not 
with  safety  'undertake  it.' 

"  The  only  direful  alternative  was  now  in  full  possession 
of  us,  (I  am  not  going  to  tell  the  'atory'  yet\  for  just  below 
us  was  a  stately  bluff  of  200  feet  in  height,  rising  out  of  the 
water,  at  an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees,  entirely  denuded  in 
front,  and  constituted  of  clay.  'Montons,  montonsl'  said 
Ba'tiste  as  he  hastily  clambered  up  its  steep  inclined  plane 
on  his  hands  and  feet,  over  its  parched  surface,  which  had 
been  dried  in  the  sun,  '  essay ez  vous,  essayezl  ce'n'est  pas 
difficile  Monsr.  Cataline,'  exclaimed  he,  from  an  elevation  of 
about  100  feet  from  the  water,  where  he  had  found  a  level 
platform,  of  some  ten  or  fifteen  feet  in  diameter,  and  stood 
at  its  brink,  waving  his  hand  over  the  twilight  landscape 
that  lay  in  partial  obscurity  beneath  him. 

"  'Nous  avons  ici  une  belle  place  pour  for  to  get  some 
«?ijps,  some  coot  slips,  vare  de  dam  Kiccaree  et  de  dam 
muskeet  shall  nevare  get  si  haut,  by  Gar !  montez,  montez 
en  haut.' 

•'  Bogard  and  I  took  our  buffalo  robes  and  our  rifles,  and 
with  difficulty  hung  and  clung  along  in  the  crevices  with 
fingt^rs  and  toes,  until  we  reached  the  spot.  We  found  our- 
selves about  half-way  up  the  precipice,  which  continued  al- 
most perpendicular  above  us ;  and  within  a  few  yards  of  us, 
on  each  side,  it  was  one  unbroken  slope  from  the  bottom  to 
the  top.    In  this  snug  little  nook  were  we  most  appropriately 

*  The  greater  part  of  the  world  can  never,  I  am  sure,  justly  appreciate 
the  meaning  and  application  of  the  above  sentence,  unless  they  have  an 
opportunity  to  encounter  a  swarm  of  these  tormenting  insects,  on  the 
banks  of  the  Missouri  or  Mississippi  rivers. 

43 


■  4^ 


\     i 


674 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


fixed,  as  we  thought,  for  a  warm  summer's  night,  out  of  the 
reach  entirely  of  musquitoes,  and  all  other  earthly  obstacles 
as  we  supposed,  to  the  approaching  gratification,  for  which 
the  toils  and  fatigues  of  the  preceding  day  and  night,  had  so 
admirably  prepared  us.  We  spread  one  of  our  robes,  and 
havmg  ranged  ourselves  side  by  side  upon  it,  and  drawn  the 
other  one  over  us,  we  commenced,  without  further  delay, 
upon  the  pleasurable  forgetfulness  of  toils  and  dangers  which 
had  agitated  us  for  the  past  day  and  night.  We  had  got 
just  about  to  that  stage  of  our  enjoyment  which  is  almost 
resistless,  and  nearly  bidding  defiance  to  every  worldly  ob- 
trusive obstacle,  when  the  pattering  of  rain  on  our  buffalo 
robes  opened  our  eyes  to  the  dismal  scene  that  was  getting 
up  about  us  1  My  head  was  out,  and  on  the  watch ;  but  the 
other  two  skulls  were  flat  upon  the  ground,  and  there 
chained  by  the  unyielding  links  of  iron  slumber.  The 
blackest  of  all  clouds  that  ever  swept  hill  tops  of  grass,  of 
clay,  or  towering  rock,  was  hanging  about  us — its  lightning's 
glare  was  incessantly  flashing  us  to  blindness ;  and  the  gid- 
dy elevation  on  which  we  were  perched,  seemed  to  tremble 
with  the  roar  and  jar  of  the  distant,  and  the  instant  bolts 
and  cracks  of  present  thunder  I  The  rain  poured  and  fell 
in  torrents  (its  not  enough) ;  it  seemed  floaiing  around  and 
above  us  in  waves  succeeding  waves,  which  burst  upon  the 
sides  of  the  immense  avalanche  of  clay  that  was  above,  and 
tlid  in  s/teete,  upon  us  1  Heavens  1  what  a  scene  was  here. 
The  river  beneath  us  and  in  distance,  with  windings  infinite, 
whitening  into  silver,  and  trees,  to  deathlike  paleness,  at  the 
lightning's  flash  1  All  about  us  was  drenched  in  rain  and 
mud.  At  this  juncture,  poor  Ba'tiste  was  making  an  effort 
to  raise  his  head  and  shoulders — he  was  in  agony  I  he  had 
slept  himself,  and  alipt  himself  partly  from  the  robe,  and  his 
elbows  were  fastened  in  the  mud. 

"  *  Oh  sacrd,  'tis  too  bad  by  Gar  I  we  can  get  some  slips 
nevare.' 

*"Ughl  (replied  Yankee  Bogard)  we  shall  get  'slips' 
enough  directly,  by  darn,  for  we  are  all  afloat,  aud  shall  go 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


675 


into  the  river  by  and  by,  in  the  twinkling  of  a  goat's  eye, 

if  we  don't  look  out.'  

"  We  were  nearly  afloat,  sure  enough,  and  our  condition 
growing  more  and  more  dreary  every  moment,  and  our  only 
altemativ*  was,  to  fold  up  our  nether  robe  and  sit  upon  it ; 
hanging  the  other  one  over  our  heads,  which  formed  a  roof, 
and  shielded  the  rain  from  us.  To  give  compactness  to  the 
trio,  and  bring  us  into  such  shape  as  would  enable  the  robe 
to  protect  us  all,  we  were  obliged  to  put  our  backs  and  occi- 
puts together,  and  keep  our  heads  from  nodding.  In  this 
way  we  were  enabled  to  divide  equally  the  robe  that  we  sat 
upon,  as  well  as  receive  mutual  benefit  from  the  one  that 
was  above  us.  We  thus  managed  to  protect  ourselves  in  the 
most  important  points,  leaving  our  feet  and  legs  (from  neces- 
sity) to  the  mercy  of  mud. 

•'  Thus  we  were  re-encamped.  'A  pretty  mess  (said  I),  we 
look  like  the  'three  graces ;' — 'de  tree  grace,  by  Gar !'  said 
Ba'tiste.  *  Grace  1  (whispered  Bogard)  yes,  it's  all  grace  here ; 
and  I  believe  we'll  all  be  buried  in  grace  in  less  than  an 
hour.' 

"'Monsr.  Catalinel  excusez  my  back,  si  vous  plait.  Bo- 
gard I  comment,  comment? — bonne  nuit,  Messieurs.  Oh! 
raon  Dieu,  mon  Dieu  1  Je  vous  rends  grace — je  vous  prie 
pour  for  me  sauver  ce  nuit — delivrez  nous  1  delivrez  nous  I 
Je  vous  adore.  Saint  Esprit — la  Vierge  Marie — oh  je  vous 
rends  grace !  pour  for  de  m'avoir  conserve  from  de  dam 
Riccree  et  de  diable  muskeet.    Eh  bien  1  eh  bien  1' 

"  In  this  miserable  and  despairing  mood  poor  Ba'tiste 
dropped  off"  gradually  into  a  most  tremendous  sleep,  whilst 
Bogard  and  I  were  holding  on  to  our  corners  of  the  robe — 
recounting  over  the  dangers  and  excitements  of  the  day 
and  night  past,  as  well  as  other  scenes  of  our  adventurous 
lives,  whilst  wo  laid  (or  rather  sat)  looking  at  the  lightning, 
with  our  eyes  shut.  Ba'tiste  snored  louder  and  louder,  until 
sleep  had  got  her  strongest  grip  upon  him ;  and  nis  specific 
gravity  became  so  great,  that  he  pitched  forward,  pull- 
ing our  corners  of  the  robe  nearly  off"  from  our  heads 


676 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


reducing  us  to  the  necessity  of  drawing  upon  them  till  we 
brought  the  back  of  his  head  in  contact  with  ours,  again 
and  his  body  in  an  erect  posture,  when  he  suddenly  ex- 
claimed— 

"  '  Bon  jour,  Monsr.  Bogard :  bon  jour,  Mons.  Cataline  • 
n'est  ce  pas  morning,  pretty  near  ?' 

'* '  No,  it's  about  midnight.' 

"•Quel  temps?' 

"  Why  it  rains  as  hard  as  ever. 

« '  O  diable !    I  wish  I  was  td  helV 

" '  You  may  be  there  yet  before  morning,  by  darn.' 

" '  Parddn !  parddn,  Monsr.  Bogard — I  shall  not  go  to- 
night, not  to-night,  I  was  joke — mais  I  dis  is  not  joke,  sup- 
pose— oh  vengeance !  I  am  slip  down  considerable — mais 
I  shall  not  go  to  hell  quite — I  am  slip  off  de  seat !' 

"  '  What !  you  are  sitting  in  the  mud  ?' 

" '  Oui,  Bogard,  in  Je  muds  1  mais,  I  am  content,  my 
head  is  not  in  de  mud.  You  see,  Bogard,  I  avait  been 
sleep,  et  I  raisee  my  head  pretty  suddain,  and  keepeo  my  e 
back  e  straight,  et  I  am  slip  off  of  de  seat.  Now,  Monsr. 
Bogard,  you  shall  keepee  your  head  straight  and  moovo 
leet,   at  de  bottom? 


mercie,  Bogard,  remercie,- 


-eh  bien,- 


—  ha-ha-h- 


re- 

ah  well 
a— 


by  Gar,  Bogard,  I  have  a  de  good  joke.  Monsr.  Cataline 
will  paintez  my  likeenes  as  I  am  now  look — he  will  paint 
us  all— I  am  tink  he  will  make  putty  coot  view  ?  ha-ha-ha-a 

we  should  see  very  putty  landscape  aboutee  de  legs, 

ha  ?    Ha ha h a a.' 

"Ob,  Ba'tiste,  for  Heaven's  sake  stop  your  laughinc 
and  go  to  sleep ;  we'll  talk  and  laugh  about  this  all  day 
to-morrow. 

*'  *  Pardon,  Monsr.  Cataline.  (excusez)  have  you  got  some 
slips  ?' 

•*  No,  Ba'tiste,  I  have  not  been  asleep.  Bogard  has  been 
entertaining  me  these  two  hours  whilst  you  was  asleep,  with 
a  description  of  a  buffalo  hunt,  which  took  place  at  the 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


677 


mouth  of  Yellow  Stone,  about  a  year  ago.  It  must  have 
been  altogether,  a  most  splendid  and  thrilling  scene,  and  I 
have  been  paying  the  strictest  attention  to  it,  for  I  intend 
to  write  it  down  and  send  it  to  New  York  for  the  cits  to 
read." 

'•'Ilike'e  dat  much,  Monsr.  Cataline,  and  I  shall  take 
much  plaisir  pour  vous  donner  to  give  descript  of  someting, 
provide  you  will  write  him  down,  ha  ?' 

"  Well  Ba'tiste,  go  on,  I  am  endeavoring  to  learn  every- 
thing that's  curious  and  entertaining,  belonging  to  this 
country. 

" '  Well  Monrs.  Cataline,  I  shall  tell  you  someting  very 
much  entertain,  mais,  but,  you  will  nevare  tell  somebody 
how  we  have  been  fix  to  night  ?  ha  ?' 

"No,  Ba'tiste,  most  assuredly  I  shall  never  mention  it 
nor  make  painting  of  it. 

" '  Well,  je  commence,— diable  Bogard  1  you  shall  keep 
your  back  straight  you  must  sit  up,  ou  il  n'est  pas  possible 
for  to  keep  de  robe  ovare  all.  Je  commence,  Mons.  Cataline 
to  describe  some  Dog  Feast,  which  I  attend  among  de  dam 
Pieds  noirs.  I  shall  describe  some  grande,  magnifique 
ceremonay,  and  you  will  write  him  down  ?' 
"  Yes  I'll  put  it  on  paper. 
" «  Parddn,  parddn,  I  am  get  most  to  slip,  I  shall  tell  him 

to-morrow,  perhaps  I  shall eh  bien; — but  you  will 

nevare  tell  how  we  look,  ha  I  Monsr.  Cataline  ?' 
"No  Ba'tiste,  I-l  never  mention  it. 

"  *  Eh  bien bon  nuit.' 

"  In  this  condition  we  sat,  and  in  this  manner  we  nodded 
away  the  night,  as  far  as  I  recollect  of  it,  catching  the 
broken  bits  of  sleep,  (that  were  even  painful  to  us  when  we 
got  them),  until  the  morning's  rays  at  length  gave  us  a 
view  of  the  scene  that  was  around  vis  1  !  Oh,  all  ye  brick- 
makers,  ye  plasterers,  and  soft-soap  manufacturers  I  put  all 
your  imaginations  in  a  ferment  together,  and  see  if  ye  can 
invent  a  scene  like  this !  Here  was  a  '  fix'  to  be  sure. 
The  sun  arose  in  splendor  and  in  full,  upon  this  everlasting 


iSf  .:' 


ill  t 


mM 


678 


LBTTEUS  AND  NOTES. 


and  boundless  scene  of  *  aafl  soap'  and  grease,  which  ad- 
mitted us  not  to  move.  The  whole  hill  was  constituted 
entirely  of  tough  clay,  and  on  each  side  and  above  us  there 
was  no  possibility  of  escape ;  and  one  single  step  over  the 
brink  of  the  place  where  we  had  ascended,  would  inevitably 
hav)  launched  us  into  the  river  below,  the  distance  of  an 
hundred  feet  I  Here,  looking  like  hogs  just  risen  from  a 
mud  puddle,  or  a  buffalo  bull  in  his  wallow,  we  sat,  (and 
had  to  ait,)  admiring  the  wide-spread  and  beautiful  land- 
scape that  lay  steeping  and  smoking  before  us,  and  our 
little  boat,  that  looked  like  a  nut-shell  beneath  us,  hanging 
at  the  shore ;  telling  stories  and  filling  up  the  while  with 
nonsensical  garrulity,  until  the  sun's  warming  rays  had 
licked  up  the  mud,  and  its  dried  surface,  about  eleven 
o'clock,  gave  foothold,  when  we  cautiously,  but  safely 
descended  to  the  bottom;  and  then,  at  the  last  jump, 
which  brought  his  feet  to  terra  firma,  Ba'tiste  exclaimed, 
•  Well,  we  have  cheatee  de  dam  muskeet,  ha  1' " 

And  this,  reader,  is  not  "  the  atory,^^  but  one  of  the  little 
incidents  which  stood  exactly  in  the  way,  and  could  not 
well  be  got  over  without  a  slight  notice,  being  absolutely 
necessary,  as  a  key,  or  kind  of  glossary,  fcr  the  proper 
understanding  of  the  tale  that  is  to  be  told.  There  is  blood 
and  butchery  in  the  story  that  is  now  to  be  related  ;  ar-'  it 
should  be  read  by  every  one  who  would  form  a  correct 
notion  of  the  force  of  Indian  superstitions. 

Three  mighty  warriors,  proud  and  valiant,  licked  the 
dust,  and  all  in  consequence  of  one  of  the  portraits  I 
painted ;  and  as  my  brush  was  the  prime  mover  of  all  these 
misfortunes,  and  my  life  was  sought  to  heal  the  wound,  I 
must  be  supposed  to  be  knov,ring  to  and  familiar  with  the 
whole  circumstances,  which  were  as — (I  was  going  to  say, 
as  follow)  but  my  want  of  time  and  your  want  of  patience, 
compel  me  to  break  off  here,  and  I  promise  to  go  right  on 
with  the  story  of  the  Dog  in  my  next  Letter,  and  I  advise  the 
reader  not  to  neglect  or  overlook  it. 


^ 


LETTER  No.  LV. 
RED  PIPE  STONE-QUARRY,  COTEAU  DES  PRAIRIES. 

"Well,  to  proceed  witli  the  Story  of  the  Dog^  which  I 
promised  ;  (after  which  I  shall  record  the  tale  of  Wi-jun-jon, 
the  pigeon's  egg  head),  which  was  also  told  by  me  during 
the  last  night,  before  we  retired  to  rest. 

"  I  think  I  said  that  my  little  canoe  had  brought  us  down 
the  Missouri,  about  eight  hundred  miles  below  the  mouth 
of  Yellow  Stone,  when  we  landed  at  Laidlaw's  Trading- 
house,  which  is  twelve  hundred  miles  above  civilization 
and  the  city  of  St.  Louis.  If  I  did  not  say  it,  it  is  no  matter 
for  it  was  even  so ;  and  '  Ba'tiste  and  Bogard  who  had 
paddled,  and  I  who  had  steered,'  threw  our  little  bark  out 
upon  the  bank,  and  taking  our  paddles  in  our  hands,  and 

(679) 


at  t* 


680 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


our  ^plunder'  upon  our  backs,  crossed  the  plain  to  the 
American  Fur  Company's  Fort,  in  charge  of  Mr.  Laidlaw 
who  gave  us  a  hearly  welcome ;  and  placed  us  in  an  instant 
at  his  table,  which  happened  at  that  moment  to  be  stationed 
in  the  middle  cf  the  floor,  distributing  to  its  surrounding 
guests  the  simple  blessing  which  belongs  to  that  fair  and 
silent  land  of  bufiUlo-tonguea  and  beavers'  tails  I  A  bottle 
of  good  Madeira  wine  sprung  (3, 1'instant)  upon  the  corner 
of  the  table,  before  us,  and  swore,  point  blank,  to  the  welcome 
that  was  expressed  in  every  feature  ot  our  host.  After  the 
usual  salutations,  the  news,  and  a  glat «  of  wine,  Mr.  Laidlaw 
began  thus : — *  Well,  my  friend,  yo-i  have  got  along  well, 
so  far ;  and  I  am  glad  to  see  you.  You  have  seen  a  great 
many  fine  Indians  since  you  left  here,  and  have,  no  doubt, 
procured  many  interesting  and  valuable  portraits  ;  but  there 
has  been  a  deal  of  trouble  about  the  ^  pictures,^  in  this 
neighborhood,  since  you  went  away.  Of  course,  you  have 
heard  nothing  of  it  at  the  Yellow  Stone ;  but  amongst,  us, 
I  assure  you,  there  had  not  a  day  passed  since  you  left, 
without  some  fuss  or  excitement  about  the  portraits.  The 
*  Dog'  is  not  yet  dead,  though  he  has  been  shot  at  several 
times,  and  had  his  left  arm  broken.  The  *  Little  Beards' 
friends  has  overtaken  the  brother  of  the  Dog,  that  fine  fellovr 
whom  you  painted,  and  killed  him  1  They  are  now  sensible 
that  they  have  sacrificed  one  of  the  best  men  in  the  nation, 
for  one  of  the  greatest  rascals;  and  they  are  more 
desperately  bent  on  revenge  than  ever.  They  have  made 
frequent  enquiries  for  you,  knowing  that  you  had  gone  up 
the  river ;  alleging  that  you  had  been  the  cause  of  these 
deaths,  and  that  if  the  Dog  could  not  be  found,  thej""  should 
look  to  you  for  a  settlement  of  that  unfortunate  affair  I 

**  *  That  unlucky  business,  taken  altogether,  has  been 
the  greatest  piece  of  medicine  (mystery),  and  created  the 
greatest  excitement  amongst  the  Sioux,  of  anything  that 
has  happened  since  I  came  into  the  country.  My  dear  Sir, 
you  must  not  continue  your  voyage  down  the  river,  in  your 
unprotected  condition.    A  large  party  of  the  Little  Bear's 


1 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


681 


band,  are  now  encamped  on  the  river  below,  and  for  you  to 
stop  there  (which  you  might  be  obliged  to  do),  would  bo  to 
endanger  your  life.'  "  *  *  *  Reader,  sit  still,  and  let  me 
change  ends  with  my  story,  (which  is  done  in  one  moment,) 
and  then,  from  a  relation  of  the  circumstances,  which 
elicited  the  friendly  advice  and  caution  of  Mr.  Laidlaw  just 
mentioned,  you  will  be  better  enabled  to  understand  the 
nature  of  the  bloody  affair  which  I  am  undertaking  to 
relate. 

"  About  four  months  previous  to  the  moment  I  am  now 
speaking  of,  I  had  passed  up  the  Missouri  river  by  this  place 
on  the  steam-boat  Yellow  Stone,  on  which  I  ascended  the 
Missouri  to  the  mouth  of  the  Yellow  Stone  river.  "While 
going  up,  this  boat,  having  on  board  the  United  States 
Indian  agent.  Major  Sanford— Messrs.  Pierre  Chouteau, 
McKenzie  of  the  American  Fur  Company,  and  myself,  as 
passengers,  stopped  at  this  trading-post,  and  remained 
several  weeks;  where  were  assembled  six  hundred  families 
of  the  Sioux  Indians,  their  tents  being  pitched  in  close 
order  on  an  extensive  prairie  on  the  bank  of  the  river. 

"This  trading-post,  in  charge  of  Mr.  Laidlaw,  is  the 
concentrating  place,  and  principal  trading  depot,  for  this 
powerful  tribe,  who  number,  when  all  taken  together,  some- 
thing like  forty  or  fifty  thousand.  On  this  occasion,  five 
or  six  thousand  had  assembled  to  see  the  steam-boat  and 
meet  the  Indian  agent,  which,  and  whom  they  knew  were 
to  arrive  about  this  time.  During  the  few  weeks  that  we 
remained  there,  I  was  busily  engaged  in  painting  my 
portraits,  for  here  were  assembled  the  principal  chiefs  and 
medicine-men  of  the  nation.  To  these  people,  the  operations 
of  my  brush  were  entirely  new  and  unaccountable,  and 
excited  amongst  them  the  greatest  curiosity  imaginable. 
Every  thing  else  (even  the  steam-boat)  was  abandoned  for 
the  pleasure  of  crowding  into  my  painting-room,  and 
witnessing  the  result  of  each  fellow':  success,  as  he  came 
out  from  under  the  operation  of  my  brush. 

•'  They  had  been  at  first  much  afraid  of  the  consequences 


iritliftijii 


■t  ■ 


il*'f 


iJ:  iM 


'?\\;  • . 


682 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  TUE 


that  might  flow  from  so  strange  aud  unaccountable  aa 
operation  ;  but  having  been  made  to  understand  my  views 
they  began  to  look  upon  it  as  a  great  honor,  and  afforded 
mo  the  opportunities  that  I  desired;  exhibiting  the  utmost 
degree  of  vanity  for  their  appearance,  both  as  to  features  and 
dress.  The  consequence  was,  that  my  room  was  filled  with 
the  chiefs  who  sat  around,  arranged  according  to  the  rank  of 
grade  which  they  hold  in  the  estimation  of  their  tribe ;  and 
in  this  order  it  became  necessary  for  me  to  paint  them,  to 
the  exclusion  of  those  who  never  signalized  themselves,  and 
were  without  any  distinguishing  character  in  society. 

'*  The  first  man  on  the  list,  was  Ua-wan-ghee-ta  (one  horn), 
head  chief  of  the  nation,  of  whom  I  have  heretofore,  spoken; 
aud  after  him  the  subordinate  chiefs,  or  chiefs  of  bands, 
according  to  the  estimation  in  which  they  were  held  by  the 
chief  and  the  tribe.  My  models  were  thus  placed  before 
me,  whether  ugly  or  beautiful,  all  the  same,  and  I  saw  at 
once  there  was  to  bo  trouble  somewhere,  as  I  could  not 
paint  them  all.  The  medicinemen  or  high  priests,  who 
are  esteemed  by  many  the  oracles  of  the  nation,  and  the 
most  importiint  men  in  it — becoming  jealous,  commenced 
their  harangues,  outside  of  the  lodge,  telling  them  that  they 
were  all  fools — that  those  who  were  painted  would  soon  die 
in  consequence ;  and  that  these  pictures,  which  had  life  to  a 
considerable  degree  in  them,  would  live  in  the  hands  of 
white  men  after  they  were  dead,  and  make  them  sleepless 
and  endless  trouble. 

"  Those  whom  I  had  painted,  though  evidently  somewhat 
alarmed,  were  unwilling  to  acknowledge  it,  and  those  whom 
I  had  not  painted,  unwilling  to  be  outdone  in  courage, 
allowed  me  the  privilege;  braving  and  defying  the  danger 
that  they  were  evidently  more  or  less  in  dread  of.  Feuds 
began  to  arise  too,  among  some  of  the  chiefs  of  the  different 
bands,  who  ('not  unlike  some  instances  amongst  the  chiefs 
and  warriors  u  our  own  country),  had  looked  upon  their 
rival  chiefs  wih  unsleeping  jealousy,  until  it  had  grown 
.uto  disrespect  and  enmity.    An  instance  of  this  kind  pre- 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


688 


BenteJ  itself  at  this  critical  juncture,  in  this  assembly  of 
iiillammablo  spirits,  which  changed  in  a  moment,  its  features 
from  the  free  and  jocular  garrulity  of  an  Indain  levee,  to 
the  frightful  yells  and  agitated  treads  and  starts  of  an  InO.ian 
battle!  I  had  in  progress  at  this  time  a  portrait  of  Mah-to- 
tchee-ga  (little  bear);  of  the  One-papa  hand,  a  noble  fine 
fellow,  who  was  sitting  before  me  as  I  was  painting.  I  was 
painting  almost  a  profile  view  of  hia  face,  throwing  a  part 
of  it  into  shadow,  and  had  it  nearly  finished,  when  an 
Indian  by  the  name  of  Shon-ka  (the  dog),  chief  of  the  Caz- 
a-zshee-ta  band ;  an  ill-natured  and  surly  man — despised  by 
the  chiefs  of  every  other  band,  entered  the  wigwam  in  a 
sullen  mood,  and  seated  himself  on  the  floor  in  front  of  my 
sitter  where  ho  could  have  a  full  view  of  the  picture  in  its 
operation.  After  sitting  a  while  with  his  arms  folded,  and 
his  lips  stiffly  arched  with  contempt ;  he  sneeringly  spoke 
thus : — 

^*  ^Mah-to-tc?iee-ga  is  hnt  half  a  man.^  #  *  » 
*  *  "  Dead  silence  ensued  for  a  moment,  and 
nought  was  in  motion  save  the  eyes  of  the  chiefs,  who  were 
seated  around  th^  room,  and  darting  their  glances  about 
upon  each  other  in  listless  anxiety  to  hear  the  sequel  that 
was  to  follow  I  During  this  interval,  the  eyes  of  Mah-to- 
tchee-ga  had  not  moved — his  lips  became  slightly  curved, 
and  he  pleasantly  asked,  in  a  low  and  steady  accent,  'Who 
says  that  ?' '  Shon-ka  says  it,'  was  the  reply ;  *  and  Shcm-ka 
can  prove  it.'  At  this  the  eyes  of  Mah-to-tchee-ga,  which 
had  not  yet  moved,  began  steadily  to  turn,  and  slow,  as  if 
upon  pivots,  and  when  they  were  rolled  out  of  their  sockets 
till  they  had  fixed  upon  the  object  of  their  contempt ;  his 
dark  and  jutting  brows  were  shoving  down  in  trembling 
contention,  with  the  blazing  rays  that  were  actually, 
burning,  with  contempt,  the  object  that  was  before  them. 
'  Why  does  Shon-ka  say  it  V 

'"Ask  We  enaah-a-wa-kon  {the  painter),  he  can  tell  you; 
he  knctws  you  are  but  half  a  man — he  has  painted  but  one* 


!!>   'i' 


1,4 


\l  \ 


11  ! 


684 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


half  of  your  face,  and  knows  tlie  other  half  is  good  for 
nothing  1' 

" '  Let  the  painter  say  it,  and  I  will  believe  it ;  but  when 
the  Dog  says,  it,  let  him  prove  it,' 

"  '  Shon-ka  said  it,  and  Shon-ka  can  prove  it ;  if  Mah-to- 
tchee-ga  be  a  man,  and  wants  to  be  honored  by  the  white 
men,  let  him  not  be  ashamed ;  but  let  him  do  as  Shon-ka 
has  done,  give  the  white  man  a  horse,  and  then  let  him  see 
the  whok  of  your  face  without  being  ashamed.' 

"  *  "When  Mah-to-tchee-ga  kills  a  white  man  and  steals  his 
horses,  he  may  be  ashamed  to  look  at  a  white  man  until  he 
brings  him  a  horse !  When  Mah-to-tchee-ga  waylays  and 
murders  an  honorable  and  brave  Sioux,  because  he  is  a 
coward  and  not  brave  enough  to  meet  him  in  fair  combat, 
tlien  he  may  be  ashamed  to  look  at  a  white  man  till  he  has 
given  him  a  horse !  Mah-totchee-ga  can  look  at  any  one ; 
and  he  is  now  looking  at  an  old  woman  and  a  cowo.rd\^ 

"  This  repartee  which  had  lasted  for  a  few  minutes,  to 
the  amusement  and  excitement  of  the  chiefs,  being  ended 
thus : — The  Dog  rose  suddenly  from  the  ground,  and  wrap- 
ping himself  in  his  robe,  left  the  wigwam,  considerably 
agitated,  having  the  laugh  of  all  the  chiefs  upon  him. 

'*  The  Little  Bear  had  followed  him  with  his  piercing  eyes 
until  he  left  the  door,  and  then  pleasantly  and  unmoved, 
resumed  his  position,  where  he  sat  a  few  minutes  longer, 
until  the  portrait  was  completed.  He  then  rose,  and  in  the 
most  graceful  and  gentlemanly  manner,  presented  to  me  a 
very  beautiful  shirt  of  buckskin,  richly  garnished  with 
quills  of  the  porcupine,  fringed  with  scalp-locks  (honorable 
memorials)  from  his  enemies'  heads,  and  painted,  with  all 
his  battles  emblazoned  on  it.  He  then  left  my  wigwam, 
and  a  few  steps  brought  him  to  the  door  of  his  own,  where 
the  Dog  intercepted  him,  and  asked,  *  What  meant  Mah-to- 
tchee-ga  by  the  last  words  that  he  spoke  to  Shon-ka  V  ^Mah- 
to-tchee-ga  said  it  and  Sfwn-ka  is  not  a  fool — that  is  enough.' 
At  this  the  Dog  walked  violently  to  his  own  lodge ;  and 
the  Little  Bear  retreated  into  his,  both  knowing  from  looks 


NORTH  AMEBICAN  INDIANS. 


685 


and  gestures  what  was  about  to  be  the  consequence  of  their 
altercation. 

"  The  Little  Bear  instantly  charged  his  gun,  and  then  (as 
their  custom  is)  threw  himself  upon  his  face,  in  humble 
supplication  to  the  Great  Spirit  for  his  aid  and  protection. 
His  wife,  in  the  meantime,  seeing  him  agitated  and  fearing 
some  evil  consequences,  without  knowing  anything  of  the 
preliminaries,  secretly  withdrew  the  bullet  from  his  gun, 
and  told  him  not  of  it. 

"  The  Dog's  voice,  at  this  moment,  was  heard,  and  reco<r. 
nized  at  the  door  of  Mah-to-tchee-ga's  lodge, — '  If  Mah-to- 
tchee-ga  be  a  whole  man,  let  him  come  out  and  prove  it ;  it 
is  Shon-ka  that  calls  him  I' 

«'  His  wife  screamed ;  but  it  was  too  late.  The  gun  was 
in  his  hand  and  he  sprang  out  of  the  door — both  drew  and 
simultaneously  fired !  The  Dog  fled  uninjured ;  but  the 
Little  Bear  lay  weltering  in  his  blood  (strange  to  say  I)  with 
all  that  side  of  his  face  entirely  shot  away  which  had  been 
left  out  of  the  picture ;  and,  according  to  the  prediction  of 
the  Dog,  ^good  for  nothing ;'  carrying  away  one  half  of  the 
jaws,  and  the  flesh  from  the  nostrils  and  corner  of  the 
mouth,  to  the  ear,  including  one  eye,  and  leaving  the  jugu- 
lar vein  entirely  exposed.  Here  was  a  '  coup ;'  and  any 
one  accustomed  to  the  thrilling  excitement  that  such  scenes 
produce  in  an  Indian  village,  can  form  some  idea  of  the 
frightful  agitation  amidst  several  thousand  Indians,  who 
were  divided  into  jealous  bands  or  clans  under  ambitious 
and  rival  chiefs  1  In  one  minute,  a  thousand  guns  and  bows 
were  seized !  A  thousand  thrilling  yells  were  raised ;  and 
many  were  the  fierce  and  darting  warriors  who  sallied  round 
the  Dog  for  his  protection — he  fled  amidst  a  shower  of 
bullets  and  arrows ;  but  his  braves  were  about  him  1  The 
blood  of  the  Onc-pa-pas  was  roused,  and  the  indignant  braves 
of  that  gallant  band  rushed  forth  from  all  quarters,  and, 
swift  upon  their  heels,  were  hot  for  vengeance  I  On  the 
plain,  and  in  full  view  of  us,  for  some  time,  the  whizzing 
arrows  flew,  and  so  did  bullets,  until  the  Dog  and  his  brave 


'n 


,'  V  'ii* 


ii  J 


!ir  .'I  ! : 


1:; 


III  ■''11 


686 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


followers  were  lost  in  distance  on  the  prairie !  In  this  ren- 
contre, the  Dog  had  his  left  arm  broken ;  but  succeeded,  at 
length,  in  making  his  escape. 

"On  the  next  day  after  this  affair  took  place,  the  Little 
Bear  died  of  his  wound,  and  was  buried  amidst  the  most 
pitiful  and  heart-rending  cries  of  his  distracted  wife,  whoso 
grief  was  inconsolable  at  the  thought  of  having  been  herself 
the  immediate  and  innocent  cause  of  bis  death,  by  depriving 
him  of  his  supposed  protection. 

"This  marvellous  and  fatal  transaction  was  soon  talked 
through  the  village,  and  the  eyes  of  all  this  superstitious 
multitude  were  fixed  upon  me  as  the  cause  of  the  calamity — 
my  paintings  and  brushes  were  instantly  packed,  and  all 
hands,  both  Traders  and  Travellers,  assumed  at  once  a 
posture  of  defence. 

"  I  evaded  no  doubt,  in  a  great  measure  the  concentration 
of  their  immediate  censure  upon  me,  by  expressions  of 
great  condolence,  and  by  distributing  liberal  presents  to  the 
wife  and  relations  of  the  deceased ;  and  by  uniting  also 
with  Mr.  Laidlaw  and  the  other  gentlemen,  in  giving  him 
honourable  burial,  where  we  placed  over  his  grave  a  hand- 
some Sioux  lodge,  and  hung  a  white  flag  to  wave  over  it. 

"  On  thii;  occasion  many  were  the  tears  that  were  shed 
for  the  brave  and  honorable  Mah-to-tchee-ga,  and  all  the 
warriors  of  his  band  swore  sleepless  vengeance  on  the 
Dog,  until  his  life  should  answer  for  the  loss  of  their  chief 
and  leaaer. 

"  On  the  day  that  he  was  buried,  I  started  for  the  mouth 
of  Yellow  Stone,  and  while  I  was  gone,  the  spirit  of  ven- 
geance had  pervaded  nearly  all  the  Sioux  country  in  search 
of  the  Dog,  who  had  evaded  pursuit.  His  brother,  however, 
a  noble  and  honorable  fellow,  esteemed  by  all  who  knew 
him,  fell  in  their  way  in  an  unlucky  hour,  when  their  thirst 
for  vengeance  was  irresistible,  and  they  slew  him.  Repent- 
ance deep,  and  grief  were  the  result  of  so  rash  an  act, 
when  they  beheld  a  brave  and  worthy  man  fall  for  so  worth- 
less a  character ;  and  as  they  became  exasperated,  the  spirit 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS 


687 


of  revenge  grew  more  desperate  than  ever,  and  they  swore 
they  never  would  lay  down  their  arms  or  embrace  their 
wives  and  children  until  vengeance,  full  and  complete, 
should  light  upon  the  head  that  deserved  it.  This  brings 
us  again  to  the  first  part  of  my  story,  and  in  this  state 
were  things  in  that  part  of  the  country,  when  I  was  descend- 
ing the  river  four  months  afterwards,  and  landed  my  canoe 
as  I  before  stated  at  Laidlaw's  trading  house. 

"  The  excitement  had  been  kept  up  all  summer  amongst 
these  people,  and  their  superstitions  bloated  to  the  full  brim, 
from  circumstances  so  well  calculated  to  feed  and  increase 
them.  Many  of  them  looked  to  me  at  once  as  the  author 
of  all  these  disasters,  considering  I  knew  tiiat  one-half  of 
the  man's  face  was  good  for  nothing,  or  that  I  would  not 
have  left  it  out  of  the  picture,  and  that  I  must  therefore 
have  foreknown  the  evils  that  were  to  flow  from  the  omis- 
sion ;  they  consequently  resolved  that  I  was  a  dangerous 
man,  and  should  suffer  for  my  temerity  in  case  the  Dog 
could  not  be  found.  Councils  had  been  held,  and  in  all  the 
solemnity  of  Indian  medicine  and  mystery,  I  had  been  doomed 
to  die !  At  one  of  these,  a  young  warrior  of  the  Onc-pa-pa 
band,  arose  and  said,  •  The  blood  of  two  chiefs  has  just  sunk 
into  the  ground,  and  an  hundred  bows  are  bent  which  are 
ready  to  shed  more  1  on  whom  shall  we  bend  them  ?  I  am 
a  friend  to  the  white  men,  but  here  is  one  whose  medicine 
is  too  great — he  is  a  great  medicine-man  I  his  medicine  is 
too  great !  he  was  the  death  of  Mah-to-tchee-ga !  he  made 
only  one  side  of  his  face  1  he  would  not  make  the  other — 
the  side  that  he  made  was  alive ;  the  other  was  dead,  and 
Shon-ka  shot  it  off  1    How  is  this  ?    Who  is  to  die  ?' 

"  After  him,  I'ah-zee-keeda-cha  (torn  belly),  of  the  Yank- 
ton band,  arose  and  said — *  Father,  this  medicine-man  has 
done  much  harm  !  You  told  our  chiefs  and  warriors,  that 
they  must  be  painted — you  said  he  was  a  good  man,  and 
we  believed  you ! — you  thought  so,  my  father,  but  you  see 
what  he  has  done  1 — he  looks  at  our  chiefs  and  our  women, 
and  then  makes  them  alive !    In  this  way  he  has  taken  oui 


'i  1 


•iyf 


X  Alt 


688 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES   ON  THE 


chiefs  away,  and  he  can  trouble  their  spirits  when  they  are 
dead ! — they  will  be  unhappy.  If  he  can  make  them  alive 
by  lo;  iking  at  them,  he  can  do  us  much  harm — you  tell  us 
that  they  are  not  alive — we  see  their  eyes  move  I — their 
eyes  follow  us  wherever  we  go,  that  is  enough.  I  have  no 
more  to  say.'  After  him,  rose  a  young  man  of  the  One- 
pa-pa  band.  *  Father,  you  know  that  I  am  the  brother  of 
Mah-to-tchee-ga — you  know  that  I  loved  him — both  sides  of 
his  face  were  good,  and  the  medicine-man  knew  it  also ! 
Why  was  half  of  his  face  left  out  ?  He  never  was  ashamed, 
but  always  looked  white  man  in  the  face !  Why  was  that 
side  of  his  face  shot  off"?  Your  friend  is  not  our  friend, 
and  has  forfeited  his  life — we  want  you  to  tell  us  where  he 
is — we  want  to  see  him !' 

"Then  rose  Toh-ki-e-to  (a  medicine-man  of  the  Yankton 
band,  and  principal  orator  of  the  nation.)  *My  friend, 
these  are  young  men  that  speak — lam  not  afraid;  your 
white  medicine-man  painted  my  picture,  and  it  was  good ; 
I  am  glad  of  it — I  am  very  glad  to  see  that  I  shall  live 
after  I  am  dead  1 — I  am  old,  and  not  afraid  I — some  of  our 
young  men  are  foolish.  I  know  that  this  man  put  many 
of  our  buffaloes  in  his  hook/  for  I  was  with  him,  and  we 
have  had  no  buffaloes  since  to  eat,  it  is  true — but  I  am  not 
afraid ! !  his  medicine  is  great  and  I  wish  him  well — we  are 
friends !' 

"  In  this  wise  was  the  subject  discussed  by  these  supersti- 
tious people  during  my  absence,  and  such  were  the  reasons 
given  by  my  friend  Mr.  Laidlaw,  for  his  friendly  advice ; 
wherein  he  cautioned  me  against  exposing  my  life  in  their 
hands,  advising  me  to  take  some  other  route  than  that 
which  I  was  pursuing  down  the  river,  where  I  would  find 
encamped  at  the  mouth  of  Cabri  river,  eighty  miles  below, 
several  hundred  Indians  belonging  to  the  Little  Bear's 
band,  and  I  might  possibly  fall  a  victim  to  their  unsatiated 
revenge.  I  resumed  my  downward  voyage  in  a  few  days, 
however,  with  my  little  canoe,  which  'Ba'tiste  and  Bogard 
paddled  and  I  steered,'  and  passed  their  encampment  in 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIiVNS. 


689 


peace,  by  taking  the  opposite  shore.  The  usual  friendly 
invitation  however,  waa  given  (which  is  customary  on  that 
river),  by  skipping  several  rifle  bullets  across  the  river,  a 
rod  or  two  ahead  of  us.  To  those  invitations  we  paid  no 
attention,  and  (not  suspecting  who  we  were),  they  allowed 
us  to  pursue  our  course  in  peace  and  security.  Thus  rested 
the  affair  of  the  Dog  and  its  consequences,  until  I  conversed 
with  Major  Bean,  the  agent  for  these  people,  who  arrived 
in  St.  Louis  some  weeks  after  I  did,  bringing  later  intelli- 
gence from  them,  assuring  me  that '  the  Dog  had  at  length 
leen  overtaken  and  killed,  near  the  Black-hills,  and  that  the 
affair  might  now  forever  be  considered  as  settled.' " 

Thus  happened,  and  thus  terminated  the  affiiir  of  "the 
Dog,"  wherein  have  fallen  three  distinguished  warriors ;  and 
wherein  might  have  fallen  one  ^^ great  medicine-man/"  and 
all  in  consequence  of  the  operations  of  my  brush.  The 
portraits  of  the  three  first  named  will  long  hang  in  my 
Gallery  for  the  world  to  gaze  upon ;  and  the  head  of  the 
latter  (wliose  hair  yet  remains  on  it),  may  probably  be  seen 
(for  a  time  yet)  occasionally  stalking  about  in  the  midst  of 
this  collection  of  Nature's  dignitaries. 

The  circumstances  above  detailed,  are  as  correctly  given 
as  T  could  furnish  them,  and  they  have  doubtless  given 
birth  to  one  of  the  most  wonderful  traditions,  which  w'U  be 
told  and  sung  amongst  the  Sioux  Indians  from  age  to  age ; 
furnishing  one  of  the  rarest  instances,  perhaps,  on  record, 
of  the  extent  to  which  these  people  may  be  carried  by  the 
force  of  their  superstitions. 

After  I  had  related  this  curious  and  unfortunate  a£^ir,  I 
was  called  upon  to  proceed  at  once  with  the 

STORY  OF  WI-JUN-JON  (the  pigeon's  eqq  head)  ; 

and  I  recited  it  as  I  first  told  it  to  poor  Ba'tiste,  on  a  former 
occasion,  which  was  as  follows : — 

"  Well,  Ba'tiste,  I  promised  last  night,  as  you  were  going 
to  sleep,  that  I  would  tell  you  a  story  this  morning — did  I 
not? 

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690 


LKTTEUS  AND  NOTES  OX  THE 


" '  Oui,  Monseiur,  oui — de  '  Pigeon's  Head.' 

"No,  Ba'tiste,  the  'Pigeon's  Egg  Head.' 

"  '  Well  den,  Monsieur  Cataline,  de  ♦  Pigeon  Egg's  Head.' 

'*  No,  Ba'tiste,  you  have  it  wrong  yet.  The  Pigeon's  Egg 
Head. 

"  '  Sacre — well,  *  Pee—jonse—ec — Jiead.^ 

"Right,  Ba'tiste.  Now  you  shall  hear  the  'Story  of  the 
Pigeon's  Egg  Head.' 

"  The  Indian  name  of  this  man  (being  its  literal  transla- 
tion into  the  Assinncboin  language)  was  Wi-jun-jon. 

"  '  Wat  1  comment  I  by  Gar  (pardon) ;  not  Wi-jun-jm^  le 
frere  de  ma  douce  Wee-ne-on-ka,  fils  du  chef  Assinneboin? 
But  excusez ;  go  on,  s'il  vaus  plait.' 

"  Wi-jun-jon,  (the  Pigeon's  Egg  Head)  was  a  brave  and  a 
warrior  of  the  Assinneboins — young — proud — handsome — 
valiant,  and  graceful.  He  h  vd  fought  many  a  battle,  and 
won  many  a  laurel.  The  numerous  scalps  from  his  enemies' 
heads  adorned  his  dress,  and  his  claims  were  fair  and  just 
for  the  highest  honors  that  his  country  could  bestow  upon 
him ;  for  his  father  was  chief  of  the  nation. 

"  Le  meme !  de  same  — mon  frere — raon  ami  1  Bien,  I  am 
compost ;  go  on,  Monsieur.' 

"  Well,  this  young  Assinneboin,  the  *  Pigeon's  Egg  Head,' 
was  selected  by  Major  Sanford,  the  Indian  Agent,  to  repre- 
sent his  tribe  in  a  delegation  w^hich  visited  Washington  city 
under  his  charge  in  the  winter  of  1832.  With  this  gentle- 
man, the  Assineboin,  together  with  representatives  from 
several  others  of  those  North  Western  tribes,  descended  the 
Missouri  river,  several  thousand  miles,  on  their  way  to 
Washington. 

"  While  descending  the  river  in  a  Mackinaw  boat,  from 
the  mouth  of  Yellow  Stone,  Wi-jun-jon  and  anotlier  of  his 
tribe  who  was  with  him,  at  the  first  approach  to  the  civilized 
settlements,  commenced  a  register  of  the  white  men's  houses 
(or  cabins),  by  cutting  a  notch  for  each  on  the  side  of  a  pipe- 
stem,  in  order  to  be  able  to  shew  when  they  got  home,  how 
many  white  men's  houses  they  saw  on  their  journey.    At 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


691 


first  the  cabins  were  scarce;  but  continually  as  they  ad- 
vanced down  the  river,  more  and  more  rapidly  increased  in 
numbers ;  and  they  soon  found  their  pipe-stem  filled  with 
marks,  and  they  determined  to  put  the  rest  of  them  on  the 
handle  of  a  war-club,  which  they  soon  got  marked  all  over 
likewise ;  and  at  length,  while  the  boat  was  moored  at  the 
shore  for  the  purpose  of  cooking  the  ('inner  of  the  party, 
Wijun-jon  and  his  companion  stepped  into  the  bushes,  and 
cut  a  long  stick,  from  which  they  peeled  the  bark ;  and 
when  the  boat  was  again  underweigh,  they  sat  down,  and 
with  much  labor,  copied  the  notches  on  to  it  from  the  pipe- 
stem  and  club ;  and  also  kept  adding  a  notch  for  every 
house  they  passed.  This  stick  was  soon  filled ;  and  in  a  day 
or  two  several  others ;  when,  at  last,  they  seemed  much  at  a 
loss  to  know  what  to  do  with  their  troublesome  records,  un- 
til they  came  in  sight  of  St.  Louis,  which  is  a  town  of  fifteen 
thousand  inhabitants ;  upon  which,  after  consulting  a  little, 
they  pitched  their  sticks  overboard  into  the  river  1 

"  I  was  iij  St.  Louis  at  the  time  of  their  arrival,  and 
painted  their  portraits  while  they  rested  in  that  place.  Wi- 
jun-jon  was  the  first,  who  reluctantly  yielded  to  the  solicita- 
tions of  the  Indian  agent  and  myself,  and  appeared  as  sullen 
as  death  in  my  painting-room — with  eyes  fixed  like  those  of 
a  statue,  upon  me,  though  his  pride  had  plumed  and  tinted 
him  in  all  the  freshness  and  biilliancy  of  an  Indian's  toilet. 
In  his  nature's  uncowering  pride  he  stood  a  perfect  model ; 
Dut  superstition  had  hung  a  lingering  curve  upon  his  lip, 
and  pride  had  stiflfened  it  into  contempt.  He  had  been 
urged  into  a  measure,  against  which  his  fears  had  pleaded ; 
yet  he  stood  unmoved  and  unflinching  amid  the  struggles  of 
mysteries  that  were  hovering  about  him,  foreboding  ills  of 
every  kind,  and  misfortunes  that  were  to  happen  to  him  in 
consequence  of  this  operation. 

"  He  was  dressed  in  his  native  costume,  which  was  classic 
and  exceedingly  beautiful ;  his  leggings  and  shirt  were  of 
the  mountain-goat  skin,  richly  garnished  with  quills  of  the 
porcupine,  and  fringed  with  locks  of  scalps,  taken  from  his 


:t|i 


U 


■■]•] 


i;  1 


692 


LETTERS  AXD  NOTES  ON  THE 


enemies'  heads.  Over  these  floated  his  long  hair  m  plaits 
that  fell  nearly  to  the  ground ;  his  head  was  decked  with  the 
war-eagle's  plumes — his  robe  was  of  the  skin  of  the  young 
buffalo  bull,  richly  garnished  and  emblazoned  with  the  bat- 
tles of  his  life ;  his  quiver  and  bow  were  slung,  and  his 
shield,  of  the  skin  of  the  bull's  neck. 

"  I  painted  him  in  this  beautiful  dress,  and  so  also  the 
others  who  were  with  him ;  and  after  I  had  done.  Major 
Sanford  went  on  to  Washington  with  them,  where  they  spent 
the  winter. 

"  Wi-jwn-jon  was  the  foremost  on  all  occasions — the  first  to 
enter  the  levee — the  first  to  shake  the  President's  hand,  and 
make  his  speech  to  him — the  last  to  extend  the  hand  to  them, 
but  the  first  to  catch  the  smiles  and  admiration  of  the  gentler 
sex.  He  travelled  the  giddy  maze,  and  beheld  amid  the 
buzzing  din  of  civil  life,  their  tricks  of  art,  their  handiworks, 
and  their  finery ;  he  visited  their  principal  cities — he  saw 
their  forts,  their  ships,  their  great  guns,  steamboats,  balloons, 
&c.  &c. ;  and  in  the  spring  returned  to  St.  Louis,  where  I 
joined  him  and  his  companions  on  their  way  back  to  their 
own  country. 

"  Through  the  politeness  of  Mr.  Chouteau,  of  the  Ameri- 
can Fur  Company,  I  was  admitted  (the  only  passenger  ex- 
cept Major  Sanford  and  his  Indians)  to  a  passage  in  their 
steamboat,  on  her  first  trip  to  the  Yellow  Stone  ;  and  when 
I  had  embarked,  and  the  boat  was  about  to  depart,  Wi-jun- 
jon  made  his  appearance  on  deck,  in  a  full  suit  of  regimen- 
tals! He  had  in  Washington  exchanged  his  beautifully 
garnished  and  classic  costume,  for  a  full  dress  '  en  militaire.' 
It  was,  perhaps,  presented  to  him  by  the  President.  It  was 
broadcloth,  of  the  finest  blue,  trimmed  with  lace  of  gold ; 
on  his  shoulders  were  mounted  two  immense  epaulets ;  his 
neck  was  strangled  with  a  shining  black  stock,  and  his  feet 
were  pinioned  in  a  pair  of  water-proof  boots,  with  high  heels, 
which  made  him  '  step  like  a  yoked  hog.' 

" '  Ha-ha-hagh  (parddn,  Monsieur  Cataline,  for  I  am 
almost  laugh) — well,  ho  was  a  fine  gentleman,  ha?' 


broj 

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high 

his  ii 

plaits 
« ( 

"B 

«<  ^ 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


693 


«'  On  bis  head  was  a  high-crowned  beaver  hat,  with  a 
broad  silver  lace  band,  surmounted  by  a  huge  red  feather, 
some  two  feet  high ;  his  coat  collar  stiff  with  lace,  came 
higher  up  than  his  ears,  and  over  it  flowed,  down  towards 
his  haunches — his  long  Indian  locks,  stuck  up  in  rolls  and 
plaits,  with  red  paint. 
" '  Ha-ha-hagh-agh-ah.' 
"Hold  your  tongue,  Ba'tiste. 
" » Well  go  on — go  on.' 

"  A  large  silver  medal  was  suspended  from  his  neck  by 
a  blue  ribbon — and  across  hia  right  shoulder  passed  a  wide 
oelt,  supporting  by  hia  side  a  broad  swcrd. 
" '  Diable  I' 

»'  On  his  hands  he  had  drawn  a  pair  of  white  kid  gloves, 
and  in  them  held,  a  blue  umbrella  in  one,  and  a  large  fan 
in  the  other.  In  this  fashion  was  poor  Wi-jun-jon  meta- 
morphosed, on  his  return  from  Washington ;  and,  in  this 
plight  was  he  strutting  and  whistling  Yankee  Doodle, 
about  the  deck  of  the  steamer  that  was  wending  its  way  up 
the  mighty  Missouri,  and  taking  him  to  his  native  land 
again ;  where  he  was  soon  to  light  his  pipe,  and  cheer  the 
wigwam  fire-side,  with  tales  of  novelty  and  wonder. 

"  Well,  Ba'tiste,  I  travelled  wi*>  this  new-fangled  gentle- 
man until  he  reached  his  home,  two  thousand  miles  above 
St.  Louis,  and  I  could  never  look  upon  him  for  a  moment 
without  excessive  laughter,  at  the  ridiculous  figure  he  cut — 
the  strides,  the  angles,  the  stiffness  of  this  travelling  beau  1 
Oh  Ba'tiste,  if  you  could  have  seen  him,  you  would  have 
split  your  sides  with  laughter;  he  was — 'puss  in  boots,' 
precisely ! 

'"By  gar,  he  is  good  compare!  Ha-ha,  Monsieur. 
(pard(5n)  I  am  laugh :  I  am  see  him  wen  he  is  arrive  in 
Yellow  Stone ;  you  know  I  was  dere.  I  am  laugh  much 
wen  he  is  got  off  de  boat,  and  all  de  Assinneboins  was  dere 
to  look.  Oh  diable !  I  am  laugh  almost  to  die,  I  am  split ! 
— suppose  he  was  pretty  stiff,  ha  ? — "  cob  on  spindle,"  ha  ? 
Oh,  by  gar,  he  is  coot  pour  laugh — pour  rire  ?' 


li 


91 


eM 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES   ON  TUB 


"  After  "Wi-jun-jon  had  got  home,  and  passed  the  usual 
salutations  among  his  friends,  he  commenced  the  simple 
narration  of  scenes  he  had  passed  through,  and  of  things  he 
had  beheld  among  the  whites ;  which  appeared  to  them  so 
much  like  fiction,  that  it  was  impossible  to  believe  them 
and  they  set  him  down  as  an  impostor.  'Ho  has  been, 
(they  said,)  among  the  whites,  who  are  great  liars,  and  all 
ho  has  learned  is  to  come  home  and  tell  lies.'  He  sank 
rapidly  into  disgrace  in  his  tribe;  his  high  ckims  to 
politcal  eminence  all  vanished ;  he  was  reputed  worthless — 
the  greatest  liar  of  his  nation ;  the  chiefs  shunned  him  and 
passed  him  by  as  one  of  the  tribe  who  was  lost ;  yet  the 
ears  of  the  gossipping  portion  of  the  tribe  were  open,  and 
the  camp-fire  circle  and  the  wigwam  f /eside,  gave  silent 
audience  to  the  whispered  narratives  of  the  'travelled 
Indian.'  *•#**# 

"  The  next  day  after  he  had  arrived  among  his  friends, 
the  superfluous  part  of  his  coat,  (which  was  a  laced  frock), 
was  converted  into  a  pair  of  leggings  for  his  wife ;  and 
his  hat-band  of  silver  lace  furnished  her  a  magnificent  pair 
of  garters.  The  remainder  of  the  coat,  curtailed  of  its 
original  length,  was  seen  buttoned  upon  the  shoulders  of 
his  brother,  over  and  above  a  pair  of  leggings  of  buckskin ; 
and  Wi-jun-jon  was  parading  about  among  his  gaping 
friends,  with  a  bow  and  quiver  slung  over  his  shoulders, 
which,  sans  coat,  exhibited  a  fine  linen  shirt  with  studs  and 
sleeve  buttons.  His  broad-sword  kept  its  place,  but  about 
noon,  his  boots  gave  way  to  a  pair  of  garnished  moccasins ; 
and  in  such  plight  he  gossipped  away  the  day  among  his 
friends,  while  his  heart  spoke  so  freely  and  so  eflfectually 
from  the  bung-hole  of  a  little  keg  of  whisky,  which  he  had 
brought  the  whole  way,  (as  one  of  the  choicest  presents 
made  him  at  Washington),  that  his  tongue  became  silent. 

"  One  of  his  little  fair  enamoratas,  or  '  catxih  crumbs,'  such 
as  live  in  the  halo  of  all  great  men,  fixed  her  eyes  and  her 
affections  upon  his  beautiful  silk  braces,  and  the  next  day, 
while  the  keg  was  yet  dealing  out  its  kindnesses,  he  was 


-J; 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


696 


seen  paying  visits  to  the  lodges  of  his  old  acquaintance 
swaggering  about,  with  his  keg  under  his  arm,  whistling 
Yankee  Doodle  and  Washington's  Grand  March ;  his  white 
shirt,  or  that  part  of  it  that  had  been/opping  in  the  wind, 
had  been  shockingly  tithed— his  pantaloons  of  blue,  laced 

with  gold,  were  razed  into  a  pair  of  comfortable  leggings 

his  bow  and  quiver  were  slung,  and  his  broad-sword  which 
trailed  on  the  ground,  had  sought  the  centre  of  gravity,  and 
taken  a  position  between  his  legs,  and  dragging  behind 
him,  served  as  a  rudder  to  steer  him  over  the  '  earth's 
troubled  surface.' 

" '  Ha-hah-hagh ah o  oo k,  eh  bien.' 

"  Two  days'  revel  of  this  kind,  had  drawn  from  his  keg 
all  its  charms ;  and  in  the  mellowness  of  his  heart,  all  his 
finery  had  vanished,  and  all  of  its  appendages,  except  his 
umbrella,  to  which  his  heart's  strongest  affections  still  clung, 
and  with  it,  and  under  it,  in  rude  dress  of  buckskin,  he  was 
afterwards  to  be  seen,  in  all  sorts  of  weather,  acting  the 
fop  and  the  beau,  as  well  as  he  could,  with  his  limited 
means.  In  this  plight,  and  in  this  dress,  with  his  umbrella 
always  in  his  hand,  (as  the  only  remaining  evidence  of  his 
quondam  greatness,)  he  began  in  his  sober  moments,  to 
entertain  and  instruct  his  people,  by  honest  and  simple 
narratives  of  things  and  scenes  he  had  beheld  during  his 
tour  to  the  East ;  but  which  (unfortunately  for  him),  were 
to  them  too  marvellous  and  improbable  to  be  believed. 
He  told  the  gaping  multitude,  that  were  constantly 
gathering  about  him,  of  the  distance  he  had  travelled — of 
the  astonishing  number  of  houses  he  had  seen— of  the  towns 
aud  cities,  with  all  their  wealth  and  splendour — of  trs.velling 
on  steamboats,  in  stages,  and  on  railroads.  He  described 
our  forts,  and  seventy -four  gun  ships,  which  he  had  visited 
— their  big  guns — our  great  bridges — our  great  council- 
house  at  Washington,  and  its  doings — the  curious  and 
wonderful  machines  in  the  patent  office,  (which  he  pro- 
nounced the  greatest  medicine  place  he  had  seen);  he 
described  the  great  war  parade,  which  he  saw  in  the  city 


I 


,*' 


ii'l 


■A^ ' 


e>j 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  TUB 


of  ITow  York — the  ascent  of  the  balloon  from  Caatlo 
Garden — numbers  of  the  white  people,  the  beauty  of  the 
white  squaws ;  their  red  cheeks,  and  many  thousands  of 
other  things,  all  of  which  were  so  much  beyond  their  com- 
prehension, that  they  •  could  not  be  true,'  and  •  he  must  bo 
the  very  greatest  liar  in  the  whole  world.'* 

"  But  he  was  beginning  to  acquire  a  reputation  of  a  diffe- 
rent kind.  lie  was  denominated  a  medicine-man,  and  one 
too  of  the  most  extraordinary  character ;  for  they  deemed 
him  far  above  the  ordinary  sort  of  human  beings,  whose 
mind  could  invent  and  conjure  up  for  their  amusement,  such 
an  ingenious  fabrication  of  novelty  and  wonder.  IIo 
steadily  and  unostentatiously  persisted,  in  this  way  of  enter- 
taining his  friends  and  his  people,  though  ho  know  his 
standing  was  affected  by  it.  He  had  an  exhaustless  theme 
to  descant  upon  through  the  remainder  of  his  life ;  and  he 
seemed  satisfied  to  lecture  all  his  life,  for  the  pleasure  which 
it  gave  him. 

"  So  great  was  his  medicine,  however,  that  they  began, 
chiefs  and  all,  to  look  upon  him  as  a  mo.st  extraordinary 
being,  and  the  customary  honors  and  forms  began  to  be 
applied  to  him,  and  the  respect  shewn  him,  that  belongs  to 
all  men  in  the  Indian  country,  who  are  distinguished  for 
their  medicine  or  mysteries.  In  short,  when  all  become 
familiar  with  the  astonishing  representations  that  he  made 
and  with  the  wonderful  alacrity  with  which  *  he  created 
them,'  he  was  denominated  the  very  greatest  of  medicine ; 
and  not  only  that,  but  the  ^  lying  medicine.^  That  he  should 
be  the  greatest  of  medicine,  and  that  for  lying,  merely,  ren- 
dered him  a  prodigy  in  mysteries  that  commanded  not  only 
respect,  but  at  length,  (when  he  was  more  maturely  heard 
and  listened  to)  admiration,  awe,  and  at  last  dread  and 
terror;  which  altogether  must  needs  conspire  to  rid  the 

*  Moat  unforbiuatcly  for  this  poor  fellow,  the  other  one  of  his  tribe, 
who  travelled  with  him,  and  could  have  borne  testimony  to  the  truth  of 
hifl  statements,  died  of  the  quinscy  on  his  way  home. 


NORTH  AMKUICAN  INDIANS. 


697 


world  of  a  monster,  whoso  m(.ro  than  human  talents  must 
be  cut  down,  to  less  than  human  measurement. 

"  '  Wat  1  Monsieur  Cataline,  doy  av  not  try  to  kill  him?' 

"  Yes,  Ba'tiste,  in  this  way  the  poor  follow  had  lived,  and 
boon  for  three  years  past  continually  relating  the  scones 
bo  had  beheld,  in  his  tour  to  the  ^  Far  East;'  until  his 
medicine  became  so  alarmingly  great,  that  they  wore 
unwilling  ho  should  live ;  they  were  disposed  to  kill  him 
for  a  wizard.  One  of  tho  young  men  of  the  tribe  took  the 
duty  upon  himself,  and  after  much  perplexity,  hit  upon  the 
following  plan,  io-wit :— he  had  fully  resolved,  in  conjunction 
with  others  who  were  in  the  conspiracy,  that  the  medicine 
of  Wi-jun-jon  was  too  great  for  the  ordinary  mode,  and 
that  he  was  so  great  a  liar  that  a  rifle  b-  "  it  would  not  kill 
him ;  while  the  young  man  was  in  thia  distressing  dilemma, 
which  lasted  for  some  weeks,  he  had  a  dream  one  nit^ht. 
which  solved  all  difficulties ;  and  in  conscr[uence  of  which, 
he  loitered  about  the  store  in  the  Fort,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Yellow  Stone,  until  he  could  procure,  by  steallh,  (according 
to  the  injunction  of  his  dream,)  the  handle  of  an  iron  pot, 
which  he  supposed  to  possess  the  requisite  virtue,  and  taking 
it  into  the  woods,  he  there  spent  a  whole  day  in  straight- 
ening and  filing  it,  to  fit  it  into  the  barrel  of  his  gur  ;  after 
which,  he  made  his  appearance  again  in  the  Fort,  with  his 
gun  under  his  robe,  charged  with  the  pot  handle,  and 
getting  behind  poor  Wi-jun-jon,  whilst  he  was  talking  with 
the  Trader,  placed  the  muzzle  behind  his  head  and  blew 
out  his  brains! 

•'  '  Sacrd  vengeance  I  oh,  mon  Dieu  1  let  me  cry — I  shall 
cry  always,  for  evare— Oh  he  is  not  true,  I  hope?  no. 
Monsieur,  no  1' 

"  Yes^  Ba'tiste,  it  is  a  fact :  thus  ei  led  the  days  and  the 
greatness,  and  all  the  pride  and  hopes  of  Wi-jun-jon,  the 
"  Pigeon^a  Egg  Head" — a  warrior  and  a  brave  of  the  valiant 
Assinneboins,  who  travelled  eight  thousand  miles  to  see  the 
President,  and  all  the  great  cities  of  the  civilized  world ; 


'if ) 


,  :ii  ■ 


698 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


and  who,  for  telling  the  tnith,  and  nothing  hut  the  truth,  was, 
after  he  got  home,  disgraced  and  killed  for  a  wizard. 

"  *  Oh,  Monsieur  Cataline — I  am  distress — I  am  sick — 1 
was  hope  he  is  not  true — oh  I  am  mortify.  Wi-jun-jon  was 
coot  Ingin — he  was  my  bruddare — eh  bien — eh  bien.' 

"  Now,  my  friend  Ba'tiste,  I  see  you  are  distressed,  and  I 
regret  exceedingly  that  it  must  be  so ;  he  was  your  friend 
and  relative,  and  I  myself  feel  sad  at  the  poor  fellow's  un- 
happy and  luckless  fate ;  for  he  was  a  handsome,  an  honest, 
and  a  noble  Indian. 

"  '  C'est  vrais,  Monsieur,  c'est  vrai." 

"  This  man's  death,  Ba'tiste,  has  been  a  loss  to  himself, 
to  hia  friends,  and  to  the  world ;  but  you  and  I  may  profit 
by  it,  nevertheless,  if  we  bear  it  in  mind 

"  '  Oui !  yes,  Monsr.  mais,  suppose,  'tis  bad  wind  dat  blows 
nary  way,  ha  ?' 

"  Yes,  Ba'tiste,  we  may  profit  by  his  misfortune,  if  we 
choose.  We  may  call  it  a  '  caution ;'  for  instance,  when  I 
come  to  write  your  book,  as  you  have  proposed ;  the  fate 
of  this  poor  fellow,  who  was  relating  no  more  than  he 
actually  saw,  will  caution  you  against  the  imprudence  of  telling 
all  that  you  actually  know,  and  narrating  all  that  you  have 
seen,  lest  like  him  you  sink  into  disgrace  for  telling  the 
truth.  You  know,  Ba'tiste,  that  there  are  many  things  to 
be  seen  in  the  kind  of  life  that  you  and  I  have  been  living 
for  some  years  past,  which  it  would  be  more  prudent  for 
us  to  suppress  than  to  tell. 

"'Oui,  Monsieur,    Well,  suppose,  perhaps  I  am  dis 
courage  about  de  book.    Mais,  we  shall  see,  ha  ?'  " 

Thus  ended  the  last  night's  gossip,  and  in  the  cool  of  this 
morning,  we  bid  adieu  to  the  quiet  and  stillness  of  this  Avild 
place,  of  which  I  have  resolved  to  give  a  little  further 
account  before  we  take  leave  of  it. 

From  the  Fall  of  St.  Anthony,  my  delightful  companion 
(Mr.  Wood,  whom  I  have  before  mentioned)  and  myself, 
with  our  Indian  guide,  whose  name  was  0-kiip-pee,  tracing 
the  beautiful  shores  of  the  St.  Peter's  river,  about  eighty 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


699 


miles ;  crossing  it  at  a  place  called  "Traverse  des  Sioux,"* 
and  recrossing  it  at  another  point  about  thirty  miles  above 
the  mouth  of  ''Terre  Bleue,"  from  whence  we  steered  in  a 
direction  a  little  North  of  West  for  the  "  C6teau  des  Prai- 
ries," leaving  the  St.  Peter's  river,  and  crossing  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  p'-o-lrie  countries  in  the  world,  for  the  distance 
of  one  hundred  and  twenty  or  thirty  miles  which  brought 
us  to  the  base  of  the  CSteau,  where  we  where  joined  by  our 
kind  and  esteemed  companion.  Monsieur  La  Fromboise,  as 
I  have  before  related.  This  tract  of  country  as  well  as  that 
along  the  St.  Peter's  river,  is  mostly  covered  with  the  rich- 
est soil,  and  furnishes  an  abundance  of  good  water,  which 
flows  from  a  thousand  living  springs.  For  many  miles  we 
had  the  C6teau  in  view  in  the  distance  before  us,  which 
looked  like  a  blue  cloud  settling  down  in  the  horizon ;  and 
we  were  scarcely  sensible  of  the  fact,  when  we  had  arrived 
at  its  base,  from  the  graceful  and  almost  imperceptible 
swells  with  which  it  commences  its  elevation  above  the 
country  around  it.  Over  these  swells  or  terraces,  gently 
rising  one  above  the  other,  we  travelled  for  the  distance  of 
forty  or  fifty  miles,  when  we  at  length  reached  the  summit ; 
and  from  the  base  of  this  mound,  to  its  top,  a  distance  of 
forty  or  fifty  miles,  there  was  not  a  tree  or  bush  to  be 
seen  in  any  direction,  and  the  ground  everywhere  was 
covered  with  a  green  turf  of  grass,  about  five  or  six  inches 
high ;  and  we  were  assured  by  our  Indian  guide,  that  it 
descended  to  the  "West,  towards  the  Missouri,  with  a 
similar  inclination,  and  for  an  equal  distance,  divested  of 
everything  save  the  grass  that  grows  and  the  animals  that 
walk  upon  it. 

On  the  very  top  of  this  mound  or  ridge,  we  found  the  far- 
famed  quarry  or  fountain  of  the  Red  Pipe,  which  is  truly 
an  anomaly  in  nature.  The  principal  and  most  striking 
feature  of  this  place,  is  a  perpendicular  wall  of  close- 
grained,  compact  quartz,  of  twenty-five  and  thirty  feet  in 
elevation,  running  nearly  North  and  South  with  its  face  to 
the  West,  exhibiting  a  front  of  nearly  two  miles  in  length. 


h\y 


W  I 


Ui 


'± 


I'iil:; 


700 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


when  )t  disappears  at  both  ends  by  running  under  the 
prairie,  which  becomes  there  a  little  more  elevated,  and 
probably  covers  it  for  many  miles,  both  to  the  North  and 
the  South.  The  depression  of  the  brow  of  the  ridge  at 
this  place  has  been  caused  by  the  wash  of  a  little  stream, 
produced  by  several  springs  on  the  top,  a  little  back  from 
the  wall ;  which  has  gradually  carried  away  the  super-in- 
cumbent earth,  and  having  bared  the  wall  for  '^e  distance 
of  two  miles,  is  now  left  to  glide  for  some  di' .  ce  over  a 
perfectly  level  surface  of  quartz  rock;  and  then  to  leap 
from  the  top  of  the  wall  into  a  deep  basin  below,  and  from 
thence  seek  its  course  to  the  Missouri,  forming  the  extreme 
source  of  a  noted  and  powerful  tributary,  called  the  "Big 
Sioux." 

This  beautiful  wall  is  horizontal,  and  stratified  in  several 
distinct  layers  of  light  grey,  and  rose  or  flesh-colored  quartz ; 
and  for  most  of  the  way,  both  on  the  front  of  the  wall,  and 
for  acres  of  its  horizontal  surface,  highly  polished  or  glazed 
as  if  by  ignition. 

At  the  base  of  this  wall  there  is  a  level  prairie,  of  half  a 
mile  in  width,  running  parallel  to  it ;  in  any  and  all  parts 
of  which  the  Indians  procure  the  red  stone  for  their  pipes, 
by  digging  through  the  soil  and  several  slaty  layers  of  the 
red  stone,  to  the  depth  of  four  or  five  feet.*  From  the 
very  numerous  marks  of  ancient  and  modern  diggings  or 
excavations,  it  would  appear  that  this  place  has  been  for 
many  centuries  resorted  to  for  the  red  stone ;  and  from  the 
great  number  of  graves  and  remains  of  ancient  fortifications 
in  its  vicinity,  it  would  seem,  as  well  as  from  their  actual 
traditions,  that  the  Indian  tribes  have  long  held  this  place 
in  high  superstitious  estimation  ;  and  also  that  it  has  been 
the  resort  of  diflerent  tribes,  who  have  made  their  regular 
pilgrimages  here  to  renew  their  pipes. 

*  From  the  very  many  excavations  recently  and  anciently  m;ide,  I  could 
discover  that  these  layers  varied  very  much  in  their  thickness  in  different 
parts ;  and  that  in  some  places  they  were  overlaid  with  four  or  five  feet 
of  rock,  similar  to,  and  in  fact  a  part  of,  the  lower  stratum  of  the  wall. 


NORTH  AMERIOAIT  INDIANS. 


701 


The  red  pipe  stone,  I  consider,  will  take  its  place  amongst 
minerals  as  an  interesting  subject  of  itself;  and  the  '•  Coteau 
des  Prairies  "  will  become  hereafter  an  important  theme  for 
geologists ;  not  only  from  the  fact  that  this  is  the  only 
known  locality  of  that  mineral,  but  from  other  phenomena 
relating  to  it.  The  single  fact  of  such  a  table  of  quartz,  in 
horizontal  strata,  resting  on  this  elevated  plateau,  is  of 
itself  (in  my  opinion)  a  very  interesting  subject  for  investi- 
gation ;  and  one  which  calls  upon  the  scientific  world  for  a 
correct  theory  with  regard  to  the  time  when,  and  the  man- 
ner in  which,  this  formation  was  produced.  That  it  is  of  a 
secondary  character,  and  of  a  sedimentary  deposit,  seems 
evident ;  and  that  it  has  withstood  the  force  of  the  diluvial 
current,  while  the  great  valley  of  the  Missouri,  from 
this  very  wall  of  rocks  to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  has  been 
excavated,  and  its  debris  carried  to  the  ocean,  there  is  also 
not  a  shadow  of  doubt ;  which  opinion  I  confidently  advance 
on  the  authority  of  the  following  remarkable  facts : 

At  the  base  of  the  wall,  and  within  a  few  rods  of  it,  and 
on  the  very  ground  where  the  Indians  dig  for  the  red  stone, 
rests  a  group  of  five  stupendous  boulders  of  gneiss,  leaning 
against  each  other;  the  smallest  of  which  is  twelve  or 
fifteen  feet,  and  the  largest  twenty-five  feet  in  diameter, 
altogether  weighing,  unquestionably,  several  hundred  tons. 
These  blocks  are  composed  chiefly  of  felspar  and  mica,  of 
an  exceedingly  coarse  grain  (the  felspar  often  occurring  in 
crystals  of  an  inch  in  diameter).  The  surface  of  these  boul- 
ders is  in  every  part  covered  with  a  grey  moss,  which  gives 
them  an  extremely  ancient  and  venerable  appearance,  and 
their  sides  and  angles  are  rounded  by  attrition,  to  the  shape 
and  character  of  most  other  erratic  stones,  which  are  found 
throughout  the  country.  It  is  under  these  blocks  that  the 
two  holes,  or  ovens  are  seen,  in  which  according  to  the 
Indian  superstition,  the  two  old  women,  the  guardian  spirits 
of  the  place,  reside ;  of  whom  I  have  before  spoken. 

That  these  five  immense  blocks,  of  precisely  the  same 
character,  and  differing  materially  from  all  other  specirr^eaa 


■  H' 


:r:i^ 


■   ?; 


•  ^»i, 


t  I 


702 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


of  boulders,  which  I  have  seen  in  the  great  valleys  of  the 
Mississippi  and  Missouri,  should  have  been  hurled  some 
hundreds  of  miles  from  their  native  bed,  and  lodged  in  so 
singular  a  group  on  this  elevated  ridge,  is  truly  matter  of 
surprise  for  the  scientific  world,  as  well  as  for  the  poor 
Indian,  whose  superstitious  veneration  of  them  is  such,  that 
not  a  spear  of  grass  is  broken  or  bent  by  his  feet,  within 
three  or  four  rods  of  them,  where  he  stops,  and  in  humble 
supplication,  by  throwing  plugs  of  tobacco  to  them,  solicits 
permission  to  dig  and  carry  away  the  red  stone  for  his 
pipes.  The  surface  of  these  boulders  are  in  every  part 
entire  and  unscratched  by  anything;  wearing  the  moss 
everywhere  unbroken,  except  where  I  applied  the  hammer, 
to  obtain  some  small  specimens,  which  I  shall  bring  away 
with  me. 

The  fact  alone,  that  these  blocks  differ  in  character  from 
all  other  specimens  which  I  have  seen  in  my  travels,  amongst 
the  thousands  of  boulders  which  are  strewed  over  the  great 
valley  of  the  Missouri  and  Mississippi,  from  the  Yellow 
Stone  almost  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  raises  in  my  mind  an  un- 
answerable question,  as  regards  the  location  of  their  native 
bed,  and  the  means  by  which  they  have  reached  their  iso- 
lated position ;  like  five  brothers,  leaning  against  and  sup- 
porting each  other,  without  the  existence  of  another  boulder 
within  many  miles  of  them.  There  are  thousands  and  tens 
of  thousands  of  boulders  scattered  over  the  prairies,  at  the 
base  of  the  Cfiteau,  on  either  side ;  and  so  throughout  the 
valley  of  the  St.  Peter's  and  Mississippi,  which  are  also 
subjects  of  very  great  interest  and  importance  to  science, 
inasmuch  as  they  present  to  the  world,  a  vast  variety  of 
characters ;  and  each  one,  though  strayed  away  from  its 
original  position,  bears  incontestible  proof  of  the  character 
of  its  native  bed.  The  tract  of  country  lying  between  the 
St.  Peter's  river  and  the  Coteav,  over  which  we  passed, 
presents  innumerable  specimens  of  this  kind  ;  and  near  the 
base  of  the  Coteau  they  are  strewed  over  the  prairie  in 
countless  numbers  presenting  an  almost  incredible  variety 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


V03 


of  rich  and  beautiful  colore ;  and  undoubtedly  traceable, 
(if  they  can  be  traced),  to  separate  and  distinct  beds. 

Amongst  these  beautiful  groups,  it  was  sometimes  a 
very  easy  matter  to  sit  on  my  horse  and  count  within  my 
sight,  some  twenty  or  thirty  different  varieties,  of  quartz 
and  granite,  in  rounded  boulders,  of  every  hue  and  color, 
from  snow  white  to  intense  red,  and  yellow,  and  blue,  and 
almost  to  a  jet  black;  each  one  well  characterized  and 
evidently  from  a  distinct  quarry.  With  the  beautiful  hues 
and  almost  endless  characters  of  these  blocks,  I  became 
completely  surprised  and  charmed;  and  I  resolved  to 
procure  specimens  of  every  variety,  which  I  did  with 
success,  by  dismounting  from  my  horse,  and  breaking  small 
bits  from  them  with  my  hammer ;  until  I  had  something 
like  an  hundred  different  varieties,  containing  all  the  tints 
and  colors  of  a  painter's  pallette.  These,  I  at  length  threw 
away,  as  I  had  on  several  former  occasions,  other  minerals 
and  fossils,  which  I  had  collected  and  lugged  along  from 
day  to  day,  and  sometimes  from  week  to  week. 

Whether  these  varieties  of  quartz  and  granite  can  all  be 
traced  to  their  native  beds,  or  whether  they  all  have  origins 
at  this  time  exposed  above  the  earth's  surface,  are  equally 
matters  of  much  doubt  in  my  mind.  I  believe  that  the 
geologist  may  take  the  different  varieties,  which  he  may 
gather  at  the  base  of  the  C6teau  in  one  hour,  and  travel  the 
Continent  of  North  America  all  over  without  being  enabled 
to  put  them  all  in  place ;  coming  at  last  to  the  unavoidable 
conclusion,  that  numerous  chains  or  beds  of  primitive  rocks 
have  reared  their  heads  on  this  Continent,  the  summits  of 
which  have  been  swept  away  by  the  force  of  diluvial 
currents,  and  their  fragments  jostled  together  and  strewed 
about,  like  foreigners  in  a  strange  land,  over  the  great  val- 
lies  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri,  where  they  will  ever 
remain,  and  be  gazed  upon  by  the  traveller,  as  the  only 
remaining  evidence  of  their  native  beds,  which  have  again 
submerged  or  been  covered  with  diluvial  deposits. 

There  seems  not  to  be,  either  on  the  C6teau  or  in  the 


^.if'i  ■  'i 


.U: 


:S 


704 


LETTERS   AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


great  valleys  on  either  side,  so  far  as  I  have  travelled,  any 
slaty  or  other  formation  exposed  above  the  surface  on 
which  grooves  or  scratches  can  be  seen,  to  establish  the 
direction  of  the  diluvial  currents  in  those  regions ;  yet  I 
think  the  fact  is  pretty  clearly  established  by  the  general 
shapes  of  the  vallies,  and  the  courses  of  the  mountain  ridges 
which  wall  them  in  on  their  sides. 

The  Coteau  des  Prairies  is  the  dividing  ridge  between 
the  St.  Peter's  and  Missouri  rivers ;  its  southern  termination 
or  slope  is  about  in  the  latitude  of  the  Fall  of  St.  Anthony, 
and  it  stands  equi-distant  between  the  two  rivers;  its 
general  course  being  two  or  three  degrees  West  of  North, 
for  the  distance  of  two  or  three  hundred  miles,  when  it 
gradually  slopes  again  to  the  North,  throwing  out  from  its 
base  the  head-waters  and  tributaries  of  the  St.  Peter's,  on 
the  East.  The  Red  River,  and  other  streams,  which  empty 
into  Hudson's  Bay,  on  the  North ;  La  Riviere  Jaque  and 
several  other  tributaries  to  the  Missouri,  on  the  West ;  and 
the  Red  Cedar,  the  loway  and  the  Des  Moines,  on  the 
South. 

This  wonderful  feature,  which  is  several  hundred  miles 
in  length,  and  varying  from  fifty  to  a  hundred  in  width,  is, 
perhaps,  the  noblest  mound  of  its  kind  in  the  world ;  it 
gradually  and  gracefully  rises  on  each  side,  by  swell  after 
swell,  without  tree,  or  bush  or  rock  (save  what  are  to  be 
seen  in  the  vicinity  of  Pipe  Stone-Quarry),  and  everywhere 
covered  with  green  grass,  affording  the  traveller,  from  its 
highest  elevations,  the  most  unbounded  and  sublime  views 

of nothing  at  all save  the  blue  and  boundless  ocean 

of  prairie  that  lie  beneath  and  all  around  him,  vanishing 
into  azure  in  the  distance  without  a  speck  or  spot  to  break 
their  softness. 

The  direction  of  this  ridge,  I  consider,  pretty  clearly 
establishes  the  course  of  the  diluvial  current  in  this  region ; 
and  the  erratic  stones  which  are  distributed  along  its  base, 
I  attribute  to  an  origin  several  hundred  miles  North  West 
from  the  Coteau.    I  have  not  myself  traced  the  Coteau  to 


1 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


706 


its  highest  points,  nor  to  its  Northern  extremity;  but  it  has 
been  a  subject,  on  which  I  have  closely  questioned  a 
number  of  traders,  who  have  traversed  every  mile  of  it 
with  their  carts,  and  from  thence  to  Lakt  Winnepeg  on 
the  North,  who  uniformly  tell  me,  that  there  is  no  range 
of  primitive  rooks  to  bo  crossed  in  travelling  the  whole 
d        ?e,  which  is  one  com  >  ,.v '  ai:d  continuous  prairie. 

TL  op  and  sides  of  the  Luteau  are  everywhere  strewed 
over  the  surface  with  granitic  sand  and  pebbles,  which,  to- 
gether with  the  fact  of  the  five  boulders  resting  at  the  Pipe 
Stone-Quarry,  shew  clearly  that  every  part  of  the  ridge  has 
been  subject  to  the  action  of  these  currents,  which  could 
not  have  run  counter  to  it,  without  having  disfigured  or 
deranged  its  beautiful  symmetry. 

The  glazed  or  polished  surface  of  the  quartz  rocks  at  the 
Pipe  Stone-Quarry,  I  consider  a  very  interesting  subject, 
and  one  which  will  excite  hereafter  a  variety  of  theories,  as 
to  the  manner  in  which  it  has  been  produced,  and  the  causes 
which  have  led  to  such  singular  results.  The  quartz  is  of 
a  close  grain,  and  exceedingly  hard,  eliciting  the  most  bril- 
liant spark  from  steel ;  and  in  most  places,  where  exposed 
to  the  sun  and  the  air,  has  a  high  polish  on  its  surface, 
entirely  beyond  any  results  which  could  have  been  pro- 
duced by  diluvial  action,  being  perfectly  glazed  as  if  by 
ignition.  I  was  not  sufiiciently  particular  in  my  exami- 
nations to  ascertain  whether  any  parts  of  the  surface  of  these 
rocks  under  the  ground,  and  not  exposed  to  the  action  of 
the  air,  were  thus  affected,  which  would  afford  an  important 
argument  in  forming  a  correct  theory  with  regard  to  it ; 
and  it  may  also  be  a  fact  of  similar  importance,  that  this 
polish  does  not  extend  over  the  whole  wall  or  area ;  but  is 
distributed  over  it  in  parts  and  sections,  often  disappearing 
suddenly,  and  reappearing  again,  even  where  the  character 
and  exposure  of  the  rock  is  the  same  and  unbroken.  In 
general,  the  parts  and  points  m'^st  projecting  and  exposed, 
bear  the  highest  polish,  which  would  naturally  be  the  case 
whether  it  was  produced  by  ignition,  or  by  the  action  of  the 

45 


il.i! 


706 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


air  and  sun.  It  would  seem  almost  an  impossibility,  that 
the  air  passing  these  projections  for  a  series  of  centuries, 
could  have  produced  so  high  a  polish  on  so  hard  a  sub- 
stance ;  and  it  seems  equally  unaccountable,  that  this  eflect 
could  have  been  produced  in  the  other  way,  in  the  total 
absence  of  all  igneous  matter. 

I  have  broken  off  specimens  and  brought  them  home, 
which  certainly  bear  as  high  a  polish  and  lustre  on  the  sur- 
face, as  a  piece  of  mdted  glass ;  and  then  as  these  rocks 
have  undoubtedly  been  formed  where  fhey  now  lie,  it  must 
be  admitted,  that  this  strange  effect  on  their  surface  has 
been  produced  either  by  the  action  of  the  air  and  sun,  or 
by  igneous  influence ;  and  if  by  the  latter  course,  there  is 
no  other  conclusion  we  can  come  to,  than  that  these  results 
are  volcanic ;  that  this  wall  has  once  formed  the  side  of  a 
crater,  and  that  the  Pipe  Stone,  laying  in  horizontal  strata, 
is  formed  of  the  lava  which  has  issued  from  it.  I  am 
strongly  inclined  to  believe,  however,  that  the  former  sup. 
position  is  the  correct  one ;  and  that  the  Pipe  Stone,  which 
difi'ers  from  all  known  specimens  of  lava,  is  a  new  variety 
of  steatite,  and  will  be  found  to  be  a  subject  of  great  interest 
and  one  worthy  of  a  careful  analysis.* 

*  la  Silliman's  American  Joornal  of  Science,  Yol.  zxvii.,  p.  394,  will 
be  seen  the  following  analysis  of  this  mineral,  made  by  Dr.  Jackson  of 
Boston,  one  of  our  best  mineralogists  and  chemists ;  to  whom  I  sent 
some  specimens  for  the  purpose,  and  who  pronounced  it  "  a  new  mineral 
compound,  not  steatite,  it  harder  than  gypsum,  and  softer  than  carbonate 
of  lime." 

Chemical  Analysis  of  the  Red  Pipe  Stone,  brought  by  George  Catlin, 
from  the  Gdtean  dcs  Prairies,  in  1836. 

Water       .       .         8.4  Carbonate  of  lime       2.6 

8ilicia       .       .       48.2  Peroxide  of  iron  5.0 

Alumina    .        .       28.2  Oxide  of  manganese    0.6 

Magnesia  .        .         6.0  

99.0 

Loss  (probably  magnesia)      1.0 

100.0 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


707 


With  such  notes  and  such  memorandums  on  this  shorn 
land,  whose  quiet  and  silence  are  only  broken  by  the 
winds  and  the  thunders  of  Heaven,  I  close  my  note-book 
and  we  this  morning  saddle  our  horses ;  and  after  wending 
our  way  to  the  "Thunders'  Nest"  and  the  "Stone-man 
■  Medicine,"  we  shall  descend  into  the  valley  of  the  St.  Pe- 
ter's, and  from  that  to  the  regions  of  civilization ;  from 
whence,  if  I  can  get  there,  you  shall  hear  of  me  again. 
Adieu. 


r 


m 


LETTER— No.  LVI. 
ROCK  ISLAND,  UPPER  MISSISSIPPI. 

It  will  be  seen  by  this,  that  I  am  again  wending  my  way 
towards  home.  Our  neat  little  "dug  out,"  by  the  aid  of 
our  paddles,  has  at  length  brought  my  travelling  com- 
panion and  myself  in  safety  to  this  place,  where  we  found 
the  river,  the  shores,  and  the  plains  contiguous,  alive  and 
vivid  with  plumes,  with  spears,  and  war-clubs  of  the  yelling 
red  men. 

We  had  heard  that  the  whole  nation  of  Sacs  and  Foxes 
were  to  meet  Governor  Dodge  here  in  treaty  at  this  time, 
and  nerve  was  given  liberally  to  our  paddles,  which  had 
brought  us  from  Traverse  des  Sioux,  on  the  St.  Peter's 
river;  and  wo  reached  here  luckily  in  time  to  see  the 
parades  and  forms  of  a  savage  community,  transferring  the 
(708) 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


m 


rights  and  immv.nities  of  tbeir  soil  to  the  insatiable  grasp  ot 
pale  faced  voracity. 

After  having  glutted  our  curiosity  at  the  fountain  of  th«» 
Red  Pipe,  our  horses  brought  us  to  the  base  of  the  Cfiteau, 
and  then  over  the  extended  plain  that  lies  between  that  and 
the  Traverse  des  Sioux,  on  the  St.  Peter's  with  about  five 
days'  travel. 

In  this  distance  we  passed  some  of  the  loveliest  prairie 
country  in  the  world,  and  I  made  a  number  of  sketches — 
'*  Laque  du  Gygne,  Swan  Lake,"  was  a  peculiar  and  lovely 
scene,  extending  for  many  miles,  and  filled  v.  ith  innumerable 
small  islands  covered  with  a  profusion  of  rich  forest  trees. 
The  Indian  mode  of  taking  muskrats,  which  dwell  in  im- 
mense numbers  in  these  northern  prairies,  and  build  their 
burrows,  in  shoal  water,  oi  the  stalks  of  the  wild  rice,  is 
curious.  They  are  built  up  something  of  the  size  and  form 
of  haycocks,  having  a  dry  chamber  in  the  top,  where  the 
animal  sleeps  above  water,  passing  in  and  out  through  a 
hole  beneath  the  water's  surface.  The  skins  of  these  animals 
are  sought  by  the  Traders,  for  their  fur,  and  they  constitute 
the  staple  of  all  these  regions,  being  caught  in  immense 
numbers  by  the  Indians,  and  vended  to  the  Fur  Traders. 
The  women,  children  and  dogs  attend  to  the  little  encamp- 
ments, while  the  men  wade  to  their  houses  or  burrows,  and 
one  strikes  on  the  backs  of  them,  as  the  other  takes  the 
inhabitants  in  a  rapid  manner  with  a  spear,  while  they  are 
escaping  from  them. 

Whilst  traversing  this  beautiful  region  of  country,  we 
passed  the  bands  of  Sioux,  who  had  made  us  so  much  trouble 
on,  our  way  to  the  Red  Pipe,  but  met  with  no  further 
molestation. 

At  the  Traverse  de  Sioux,  our  horses  were  left,  and  we 
committed  our  bodies  and  little  travelling  conveniences  to 
the  narrow  compass  of  a  modest  canoe  that  must  evidently 
have  been  dug  out  from  the  wrong  side  of  the  log — that 
required  us  and  everything  in  it,  to  be  exactly  in  the 
bottom — and  then,  to  look  straight  forward,  and  speak  from 


^    i 


Ff  1' 


■\:-   ,.     i 


■1^ 


710 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


the  middle  of  our  mouths,  or  it  was  ^^  (other  aide  vp^^  in  an 
instant.  In  this  way,  embarked  with  our  paddles  used  as 
balance  polos  and  propellers  (after  drilling  awhile  in  shoal 
water  till  we  could  "  get  the  hang  of  it "),  we  started  oftj 
upon  the  bosom  of  the  St.  Peter's  for  the  Fall  of  St. 
Anthony.         «*«»«« 

*  *  *  Cans  accident  we  arrived,  at  ten  o'clock 
at  night  of  the  second  day — and  sans  steamer  (which  we 
were  in  hopes  to  meet),  wo  were  obliged  to  trust  to  our 
little  tremulous  craft  to  carry  us  through  the  windings  of 
the  mighty  Mississippi  and  Lake  Pepin,  to  Prairie  du  Chien, 
a  distance  of  four  hundred  miles,  which  I  had  travelled  last 
summer  in  the  same  manner. 

"  Oh,  the  drudgery  and  toil  of  paddling  our  little  canoe 
from  this  to  Prairie  du  Chien,  we  never  can  do  it,  Catlin  1" 

*'  Ah  well,  never  mind,  my  dear  fellow — we  must  *go  it' 
— there  is  no  other  way.  But  think  of  tlie  pleasure  of  such 
a  trip,  ha  ?  Our  guns  and  our  fishing-tackle  we  will  have 
in  good  order,  and  be  masters  of  our  own  boat — we  can 
shove  it  into  every  nook  and  crevice ;  explore  the  caves  in 
the  rocks ;  ascend  '  Mount  Strombolo,''  and  linger  along  the 
pebbly   shores  of  Lake   Pepin,   to   our   hearts'  content." 

*'  Well,  I  am  perfectly  agreed ;  that's  fine,  by  Jupiter, 
that's  what  I  .shall  relish  exactly  ;  we  will  have  our  own  fun, 
and  a  truce  to  the  labor  and  time ;  let's  haste  and  be  off." 
So  we  catered  for  our  voyage,  shook  hands  with  our  friends, 
and  were  again  balancing  our  skittish  bark  upon  the  green 
waters  of  the  Mississippi.  We  encamped  (as  I  had  done 
the  summer  before),  along  its  lonely  banks,  whoso  only 
music  is  the  echoing  war-song  that  rises  from  the  glimmer- 
ing camp-fire  of  the  retiring  savage,  or  the  cries  of  the 
famishing  wolf  that  sits  and  bitterly  weeps  out  in  tremulous 
tones,  his  impatience  for  the  crumbs  that  are  to  fall  to  his  lot. 

Ohl  but  we  enjoyed  those  moments,  (did  we  not,  Wood? 
I  would  ask  you,  in  any  part  of  the  world,  where  cireura- 
stances  shall  throw  this  in  your  way)  those  nights  of  our 
voyage,  which  ended  days  of  peril  and  fatigue ;  when  our 


NORTH  AMERICAN  1NDIAX3. 


711 


lardor  was  full,  when  our  cofFeo  was  good,  our  mats  spread, 
and  our  musquito  bars  over  us,  which  admitted  the  cool 
and  freshness  of  night,  but  screened  the  dew,  and  bade 
de dance  to  the  buzzing  thousands  of  sharp-billed,  winged 
torturers  that  were  kicking  and  thumping  for  admission. 
I  speak  now  of  fair  weather^  not  of  the  nights  of  lightning 
and  of  rain!  We'll  pass  them  over.  We  had  all  kinds 
though,  and  as  we  loitered  ten  days  on  our  '^vny,  we  ex- 
amined and  experimented  on  inany  things  for  tne  benefit  of 
mankind.  We  drew  into  our  larder  (in  a^'Ution  to  bass 
and  wild  fowls),  clams,  snails,  frog^^,  and  attlesnakes;  the 
latter  of  which,  when  properly  dress- ,1  and  b  'led,  we 
found  to  be  the  most  delicious  food  of  the  land. 

We  were  stranded  upon  the  Eastern  shore  ol  Liuke  Pepin, 
where  head- winds  held  us  three  day  ..  »>»id,  like  solitr  y 
Malays  or  Zealand  penguins,  we  stal>i.ed  Aong  and  about 
its  pebbly  shores  till  we  were  tired,  before  we  could,  with 
security,  lay  our  little  trough  upon  its  troubled  surface. 
When  liberated  from  its  wind-bound  shores,  we  busily 
plied  our  paddles,  and  nimbly  sped  our  way,  until  we  were 
landed  at  the  fort  of  "  Mount  Stromb  )lo,"  (as  the  soldiers 
call  it),  but  properly  denominated,  in  French,  La  Montaigne 
que  tromps  a  Veau.  We  ascended  it  without  much  trouble ; 
and  enjoyed  from  its  top,  one  of  the  most  magnificent 
panoramic  views  that  the  Western  world  can  furnish ;  and 
I  would  recommend  to  the  tourist  who  has  time  to  stop  for 
for  an  hour  or  two,  to  ."/*  U)  its  summit,  and  enjoy  with 
rapture,  the  splendor  of  tlie  scene  that  lies  near  and  in 
distance  about  him.  This  mountain,  or  rather  pyramid,  is 
an  anomaly  in  the  Ct^antry,  rising  as  it  does,  about  seven 
hundred  feet  from  i,he  water,  and  washed  at  its  base,  all 
around,  by  the  river ;  which  divides  and  runs  on  each  side 
of  it.  It  is  composed  chiefly  of  rock,  and  all  its  strata 
correspond  exactly  with  those  of  the  projecting  pro- 
montories on  either  side  of  the  river.  We  at  length 
arrived  safe  at  Prairie  du  Chien;  which  was  also  sans 
steamer.    We  were  moored  again,  thirty  miles  below,  at 


712 


LETIEBS  AND  NOTKS  ON  THE 


the  beautiful  banks  and  bluffij  of  Cassville ;  which,  too,  was 
sans  steamer — we  clipped  our  paddles  again and 

"We  are  now  six  hundred  miles  below  the  Fall  of  St. 
Anthony,  where  steamers  daily  pass ;  and  we  fe.el,  of  course, 
at  home.  I  spoke  of  the  Treaty.  We  were  just  in  time, 
and  beheld  its  conclusion.  It  was  signed  yesterday;  and 
this  day,  of  course,  is  one  of  revel  and  amusements — shows 
of  war-parades  and  dances.  The  whole  of  the  Sacs  and 
Foxes  are  gathered  here,  and  their  appearance  is  very 
thrilling,  and  at  the  same  time  pleasing.  These  people 
have  sold  so  much  of  their  land  lately,  that  they  have  the 
luxuries  of  life  to  a  considerable  degree,  and  may  be  con- 
sidered rich;  consequently  they  look  elated  and  happy, 
carrying  themselves  much  above  the  humbled  manner  of 
most  of  the  semi-civilized  tribes,  whose  heads  are  hanging 
and  drooping  in  poverty  and  despair. 

In  a  former  epistle,  I  mentioned  the  interview  which  1 
had  with  Kee-o-kuk,  and  the  leading  men  and  women  of 
his  tribe,  when  I  painted  a  number  of  their  portraits  and 
amusements  as  follow: 

Kee-o-kuk  (the  running  fox,)  is  the  present  chief  of  the 
tribe,  a  dignified  and  proud  man,  with  a  good  share  of  talent 
and  vauity  enough  to  force  into  action  all  the  wit  and 
iudgment  he  possesses,  in  order  to  command  the  attention 
and  respect  of  the  world.  At  the  close  of  the  "  Black  Hawk 
War,"  in  1833,  which  had  been  waged  with  disastrous 
effects  along  the  frontier,  by  a  Sac  chief  of  that  name, 
Kee-o-hik  was  acknowledged  chief  of  the  Sacs  and  Foxes 
by  General  Scott,  who  held  a  Treaty  with  them  at  Rock 
Island.  His  appointment  as  chief,  was  in  consequence  of 
the  friendly  position  he  had  taken  during  the  war,  holding 
two-thirds  of  the  warriors  neutral,  which  was  no  doubt  the 
cause  of  the  sudden  and  successful  termination  of  the  war, 
and  the  means  of  saving  much  bloodshed.  Black  Hawk 
&nd  his  two  sons,  as  well  as  his  principal  advisers  and 
warriors,  were  brought  into  St.  Louis  in  chains,  and  Kee-o- 
kuk  appointed  chief  with  the  assent  of  the  tribe.    There  is 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


713 


no  Indian  chief  on  the  frontier  better  known  at  this  time, 
or  more  highly  appreciated  for  his  eloquence,  as  a  public 
speaker,  than  Eee-o-kuk;  as  he  has  repeatedly  visited 
Washington  and  other  of  our  Atlantic  towns,  and  made 
his  speeches  before  thousands,  when  he  has  been  contending 
for  his  people's  rights,  in  their  stipulations  with  the  United 
States  Government,  for  the  sale  of  their  lands. 

The  Sacs  and  Foxes,  who  were  once  two  separate  tribes, 
but  with  a  language  very  similar,  have,  at  some  period  not 
very  remote,  united  into  one,  and  are  now  an  inseparable 
people,  and  go  by  thvi^  familiar  appellation  of  the  amalgam 
name  of  "  Sacs  and  Foxes." 

These  people  shave  and  ornament  their  heads,  like  the 
Osages  and  Pawnees,  of  whom  I  have  spoken  heretofore ; 
and  are  amongst  the  number  of  tribes  who  have  relinquished 
their  immense  tracts  of  lands,  and  recently  retired  West  of 
the  Mississippi  river.  Their  numbers  at  present  are  not 
more  than  five  or  six  thousand,  yet  they  are  a  warlike  and 
powerful  ti'ibe. 


.^ft;' 


BLACK  HAWK. 


Muka-tahmish-o-kah-Jcaik  (the  black  hawk),  is  the  man 
lO  whom  I  have  above  alluded,  as  the  leader  of  the  "  Black 


i'it , 


714 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  OX  THE 


Hawk  war,"  who  was  defeated  by  General  Atkinson,  and 
held  a  prisoner  of  war,  and  sent  through  "Washington 
and  other  Eastern  cities,  with  a  number  of  others,  to  bo 
gazed  at. 

This  man,  whose  name  has  carried  a  sort  of  terror 
through  the  country  where  it  has  been  sounded,  has  been 
distinguished  as  a  speaker  or  counsellor  rather  than  as  a 
warrior;  and  I  believe  it  has  been  pretty  generally 
admitted,  that  ^^Nah-pope"  and  the  "Prophet"  were  in 
fact,  the  instigators  of  the  war ;  and  either  of  them  with 
much  higher  claims  for  the  name  of  warrior  than  Black 
Hawk  ever  had. 

When  I  painted  this  chief,  he  was  dressed  in  a  plain  suit 
of  buckskin,  with  strings  of  wampum  in  his  ears  and  on  his 
neck,  and  held  in  his  hand,  his  medicine-bag,  which  was 
the  skin  of  a  black  hawk,  from  which  he  had  taken  his 
name,  and  the  tail  of  which  made  him  a  fan,  which  he  was 
almost  constantly  using. 

After  I  had  painted  the  portrait  of  Kee-o-huk  at  full 
length,  he  had  the  vanity  to  say  to  me,  that  he  made  a  fine 
appearance  ou  horseback,  and  that  he  wished  me  to  paint 
him  thus.  So  I  prepared  my  canvass  in  the  door  of  the 
hospital  which  I  occupied,  in  the  dragoon  cantonment;  and 
he  flourished  about  for  a  considerable  part  of  the  day  in 
front  of  me,  until  the  picture  was  completed.  The  horse 
that  he  rode  was  the  best  animal  on  the  frontier :  a  fine 
blooded  horse,  for  which  he  gave  the  price  of  three  hundred 
dollars,  a  thing  that  he  was  quite  able  to,  who  had  the 
distribution  of  fifty  thousand  dollars  annuities,  annually, 
amongst  his  people.  He  made  a  great  display  on  this  day, 
and  hundreds  of  the  dragoons  and  officers  were  about  him, 
and  looking  on  during  the  operation.  His  horse  was 
beautifully  caparisoned,  and  his  scalps  were  carried  attached 
to  the  bridle-bits.* 


*  About  two  years  after  the  above  was  written,  and  the  portrait 
painted,  and  while  I  was  giving  Lectures  on  the  Customs  of  the 
Indians,  in  the  iStuyycsant  Institute  in  New  York,   Ree-o-kuk  and  his 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


715 


The  dances  and  other  amusements  amongst  this  tribe  are 
exceedingly  spirited  and  pleasing. 
The  slave-dance  is  a  picturesqae  scene,  and  the  custom  in 

wife  and  bod,  with  twenty  nioic  of  the  chiefs  and  warriors  of  his  tribe, 
visited  the  City  of  New  York  on  their  way  to  Washington  City,  and 
were  present  one  evening  at  my  Lecture,  amidst  an  audience  of  fifteen 
hundred  persons.  During  the  Lecture,  I  placed  a  succession  of  por- 
traits on  my  easel  before  the  audience,  and  they  were  successively 
recognized  by  the  Indians  as  they  were  shown ;  and  at  last  I  placed 
this  portrait  of  Kee-o-kuk  before  them,  when  they  all  sprung  up  and 
hailed  it  with  a  piercing  yell.  After  th  oise  had  subsided,  Kee-o-kuk 
arose  and  addressed  the  audience  in  thcu ,  words  :— "My  friends,!  hope 
you  will  pardon  my  men  for  making  so  much  noise,  as  they  were  very 
much  excited  by  seeing  me  on  my  favorite  war-horse,  which  they  all 
recognized  in  a  moment." 

I  had  the  satisfaction  then  of  saying  to  the  audience,  that  this  was 
very  gratifying  to  me,  inasmuch  as  many  persons  had  questioned  the 
correctness  of  the  picture  of  the  horse ;  and  some  had  said  in  my  Exhi- 
bition Boom,  "that  it  was  an  imposition — that  no  Indian  on  the  frontier 
rode  so  good  a  horse."  This  was  explained  to  Eee-o-kuk  by  the  inter- 
preter, when  he  arose  again  quite  indignant  at  the  thought  that  any  one 
should  doubt  its  correctness,  and  assured  the  audience,  "  that  his  men,  a 
number  of  whom  never  had  heard  that  the  picture  was  painted,  knew  the 
horse  the  moment  it  was  presented ;  and  further,  he  wished  to  know  why 
Eee-o-kuk  could  not  ride  as  good  a  horse  as  any  white  man?"  Ue  here 
received  a  round  of  applause,  and  the  interpreter,  Mr.  Le  Clair,  rose 
and  stated  to  the  audience,  that  ho  recognized  the  horse  the  moment  it 
was  shown,  and  that  it  was  a  faithful  portrait  of  the  horse  thait  he  sold 
to  Kee-o-kuk  for  three  hundred  dollars,  and  that  it  was  the  finest  horse 
on  the  frontier,  belonging  either  to  red  or  white  men. 

In  a  few  minutes  afterwards  I  was  exhibiting  several  of  my  paintings 
of  bufialo-hunts,  and  describing  the  modes  of  slaymg  them  with  bows 
and  arrows,  when  I  made  the  assertion  which  I  had  often  been  in  the 
habit  of  making,  that  there  were  many  instances  where  the  arrow  was 
thrown  entirely  through  the  buffalo's  body;  and  that  I  had  several 
times  witnessed  this  astonishing  feat.  I  saw  evidently  by  the  motion  of 
my  audience,  that  many  doubted  the  correctness  of  my  assertion ;  and  I 
appealed  to  Kee-o-kuk,  who  rose  up  when  the  thing  was  explained  to 
him,  and  said,  that  it  had  repeatedly  happened  amongst  his  tribe ;  and 
he  believed  that  one  of  his  young  mon  by  his  side  had  done  it.  The 
young  man  instantly  stepped  up  on  the  bench,  and  took  a  bow  from 
under  his  robe,  with  which  he  told  the  audience  he  had  driven  his  arrow 
quite  through  a  buffalo's  body.    And,  there  being  forty  of  the  Sioux 


ife 


716 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


which  it  is  founded,  a  very  curious  one.  This  tribe  has  a 
society,  which  they  call  the  "  slavesy^  composed  of  a  number 
of  the  young  men  of  the  best  families  in  the  tribe,  who 
volunteer  to  be  slaves  for  the  term  of  two  years,  and  sub- 
ject to  perform  any  menial  service  that  the  chief  may  order, 
no  matter  how  humiliating  or  how  degrading  it  may  be ; 
by  which,  after  serving  their  two  years,  they  are  exempt 
for  the  rest  of  their  lives,  on  war  parties  or  other  excur- 
sions, or  wherever  they  may  be — from  all  labor  or  degra- 
ding occupations,  such  as  cooking,  making  fires,  &c.,  &c. 

These  young  men  elect  one  from  their  numbers  to  be 
their  master,  and  all  agree  to  obey  his  command,  whatever 
it  may  be,  and  which  is  given  to  him  by  one  of  the  chiefs 
of  the  tribe.  On  a  certain  day  or  season  of  the  year,  they 
have  to  themselves  a  great  feast,  and  preparatory  to  it  the 
above-mentioned  dance. 

Smoking  Iwrsea  is  another  of  the  peculiar  and  very  curious 
customs  of  this  tribe.  When  General  Street  and  I  arrived 
at  Kee-o-kuk's  village,  we  were  just  in  time  to  see  this 
amusing  scene,  on  the  prairie  a  little  back  of  his  village. 
The  Foxes,  who  were  making  up  a  war-party  to  go  against 
the  Sioux,  and  had  not  suitable  horses  enough  by  twenty, 
had  sent  word  to  the  Sacs,  the  day  before  (according  to  an 
ancient  custom),  that  they  were  coming  on  that  day,  at  a 
certain  hour,  to  "  smoke"  that  number  of  horses,  and  they 
must  not  fail  to  have  them  ready.  On  that  day,  and  at  the 
hour,  the  twenty  young  men  who  were  beggars  for  horses, 
were  on  the  spot,  and  seated  themselves  on  the  ground  in  a 
circle,  where  they  went  to  smoking.  The  villagers  flocked 
around  them  in  a  dense  crowd,  and  soon  after  appeared  on 
the  prairie,  at  half  a  mile  distance,  an  equal  number  of 
young  men  of  the  Sac  tribe,  who  had  agreed,  each  to  give 
a  horse,  and  who  were  then  galloping  them  about  at  full 
speed ;  and,  gradually,  as  they  went  around  in  a  circuit, 

from  Upper  Missonri  also  present,  the  same  question  was  put  to  them, 
vhcn  the  chief  arose,  and  addressing  himself  to  the  audience,  said,  that 
it  was  a  thing  very  often  done  by  the  hunters  in  his  tribe. 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


717 


coming  iu  nearer  to  tlie  centre,  until  they  were  at  last  close 
around  the  ring  of  young  fellows  seated  on  the  ground. 
Whilst  dashing  about  thus,  each  one,  with  a  heavy  whip  in 
his  hand,  as  he  came  within  reach  of  the  group  on  the 
ground,  selected  the  one  to  whom  he  decided  to  present 
his  horse,  and  as  he  passed  him,  gave  him  the  most  tre- 
mendous cut  with  his  lash,  over  his  naked  shoulders ;  and 
as  he  darted  around  again,  he  plied  the  whip  as  before,  and 
again  and  again,  with  a  violent  "crack  1"  until  the  blood 
could  be  seen  trickling  down  over  his  naked  shoulders, 
upon  whieh  he  instantly  dismounted,  and  placed  the  bridle 
and  whip  in  his  hands,  saying,  ♦'  here,  you  are  a  beggar — ^I 
present  you  a  horse,  but  you  will  carry  my  mark  on  your 
back."    In  this  manner,  they  were  all  in  a  little  time 
"  whipped  up"  and  each  had  a  good  horse  to  ride  home, 
and  into  battle.    His  necessity  was  such,  that  he  could 
afford  to  take  the  stripes  and  the  scars  as  the  price  of  the 
horse,  and  the  giver  could  afford  to  make  the  present  for 
the  satisfaction  of  putting  his  mark  upon  the  other,  and  of 
boasting  of  his  liberality,  which  he  has  always  a  right  to  do, 
when  going  into  the  dance,  or  on  other  important  occasions. 
The  Begging  Dance  is  a  frequent  jimusement,  and  one 
that  has  been  practiced  with  some  considerable  success  at 
this  time,  whilst  there  have  been  so  many  distinguished 
and  liberal  visitors  here.    It  is  got  up  by  a  number  of  des- 
perate and  long-winded  fellows,  who  will  dance  and  yell 
their  visitors  into  liberality ;  or,  if  necessary,  laugh  them 
into  it,  by  their  strange  antics,  singing  a  song  of  impor- 
tunity, and  extending  their  hands  for  presents,  which  they 
allege  are  to  gladden  the  hearts  of  the  poor,  and  insure  a 
blessing  to  the  giver. 

The  Sacs  and  Foxes,  like  all  other  Indians,  are  fond  of 
living  along  the  banks  of  rivers  and  streams ;  and  like  all 
others,  are  expert  swimmers  and  skilful  canoemen. 

Their  canoes,  like  those  of  the  Sioux  and  many  other 
tribes,  are  dug  out  from  a  log,  and  generally  made  ex- 
tremely light ;  and  they  dart  them  through  the  coves  and 


€'■ 


!f  :  .  5  - 


iM' 


718 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


along  the  shores  of  the  rivers,  with  astonishing  quickness. 
I  was  often  amused  at  their  freaks  in  their  canoes,  whilst 
travelling ;  and  I  was  induced  to  make  a  sketch  of  one 
which  I  frequently  witnessed,  that  of  sailing  with  the  aid 
of  their  blankets,  which  the  men  carry ;  and  when  the  wind 
is  fair,  stand  in  the  bow  of  the  canoe  and  hold  by  two  cor- 
ners, with  the  other  two  under  the  foot  or  tied  to  the  leg  • 
while  the  women  sit  in  the  other  end  of  the  canoe,  and 
steer  it  with  their  paddles. 

The  Discovery  Dance  has  been  given  here,  amongst  various 
others,  and  pleased  the  bystanders  very  much :  it  was  ex- 
ceedingly droll  and  picturesque,  and  acted  out  with  a  great 
deal  of  pantomimic  effect — without  music,  or  any  other 
noise  than  the  patting  of  their  feet,  which  all  came  simul- 
taneously on  the  ground,  in  perfect  time,  whilst  they  were 
dancing  forward  two  or  four  at  a  time,  in  a  skulking  pos- 
ture, overlooking  the  country,  and  professing  to  announce 
the  approach  of  animals  or  enemies  which  they  have  disco- 
vered, by  giving  the  signals  back  to  the  leader  of  the 
dance. 

Dance  to  the  Berdashe  is  a  very  funny  and  amusing  scene, 
which  happens  once  ^  year  or  ofltener,  as  they  choose,  when 
a  feast  is  given  to  the  "^ercfaaAe,"  as  he  is  called  in  French, 
(or  I-coo-coo-a,  in  their  own  language,)  who  is  a  man  dressed 
in  woman's  clothes,  as  he  is  known  to  be  all  his  life,  and 
for  extraordinary  privileges  which  he  is  known  to  possess, 
he  is  driven  to  the  most  servile  and  degrading  duties,  which 
he  is  not  allowed  to  escape ;  and  he  being  the  only  one  of 
the  tribe  submitting  to  this  disgraceful  degradation,  is 
looked  upon  as  medicine  and  sacred,  and  a  feast  is  given  to 
him  annually ;  and  initiatory  to  it,  a  dance  by  those  few 
young  men  of  the  tribe,  who  can  dance  forward  and  pub- 
licly make  their  boast  (without  the  denial  of  the  Berdashe), 
that  Agh-whi-ee-choos-cum-me  hi-anh-dwax-cumme-ke  on- 
daig-nun-ehow  ixt.  Che-nea'hkt  ah-pex-ian  I-coo-cooa  wi- 
an-gurotst  whow-itcht-ne-axt-ar-rah,  ne-axt-gun-he  h'dow-k'a 
dow  ondaig-o-ewhicht  nun-go- was-see. 


NOBTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


719 


Such,  and  sucli  only,  are  allowed  to  enter  the  dance  and 
partake  of  the  feast,  and  as  there  are  but  a  precious  few  in 
the  tribe  who  have  legitimately  gained  this  singular 
privilege,  or  willing  to  make  a  public  confession  of  it,  it 
will  be  seen  that  the  society  consists  of  quite  a  limited 
number  of  "  odd  fellows." 

This  is  one  of  the  most  unaccountable  and  disgusting 
customs,  that  I  have  ever  met  in  the  Indian  country,  and 
so  far  1  I  have  been  able  to  learn,  belongs  only  to  the 
Sioux  and  Sacs  and  Foxes — perhaps  it  is  practiced  by 
other  tribes,  but  I  did  not  meet  with  it ;  and  for  further 
account  of  it  I  am  constrained  to  refer  the  reader  to  the 
country  where  it  is  practiced,  and  where  I  should  wish 
that  it  might  be  extinguished  before  it  be  more  fully 
recorded. 

Dance  to  the  Medicine  of  the  Brave.  This  is  a  custom  well 
worth  recording,  for  the  beautiful  moral  which  is  contained 
in  it.  In  this  dance  a  party  of  Sac  warriors  who  have 
returned  victorious  from  battle,  with  the  scalps  they  have 
taken  from  their  enemies;  but  having  lost  one  of  their  own 
party,  they  appear  and  dance  in  front  of  his  wigwam, 
fifteen  days  in  succession,  about  an  hour  on  each  day,  when 
the  widow  hangs  his  medicine-bag  on  a  green  bush  which 
she  erects  before  her  door,  under  which  she  sits  and  cries, 
whilst  the  warriors  dance  and  brandish  the  scalps  they 
have  taken,  and  aL  the  same  time  recount  the  deeds  of 
bravery  of  their  deceased  comrade  in  arms,  whilst  they  are 
throwing  presents  to  the  widow  to  heal  her  grief  and  afford 
her  the  means  of  a  living. 

The  Sacs  and  Foxes  are  already  drawing  an  annuity  of 
twenty-seven  thousand  dollars,  for  thirty  years  to  come,  in 
cash;  and  by  the  present  Treaty,  that  amount  will  be 
enlarged  to  thirty-seven  thousand  dollars  per  annum.  This 
Treaty  with  the  Sacs  and  Foxes,  held  at  Rock  Island,  was 
for  the  purchase  of  a  tract  of  land  of  two  hundred  and  fifty- 
six  thousand  acres,  lying  on  the  loway  river,  West  of  the 
Mississippi,  a  reserve  which  was  made  in  the  tract  of  land 


r!t 


t;     fe; 


]'::::! 


720 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


>t 


conveyed  to  the  Government  by  Treaty  after  the  Sac  war, 
and  known  as  the  "  Black  Hawk  purchase."  The  Treaty 
has  been  completed  by  Governor  Dodge,  by  stipulating  on 
the  part  of  Government  to  pay  th?m  seventy-five  cents  per 
acre  for  the  reserve,  (amounting  to  <ne  hundred  and  ninety- 
two  thousand  dollars,)  in  the  manner  and  form  following: — 

Thirty  thousand  dollars  to  oe  paid  in  specie  in  June 
next,  at  the  Treat,  round;  and  ten  thousand  dollars 
annually,  for  ten  years  to  come,  at  the  same  place,  and  in 
the  same  manner ;  and  the  remaining  sixty -two  thousand, 
in  the  payment  of  their  debts,  and  some  little  donations  to 
widows  and  half-breed  children.  The  American  Fur 
Company  was  their  principal  creditor,  whoso  account  for 
goods  advanced  on  credit,  they  admitted,  to  the  amount  of 
nearly  fifty  thousand  dollars.  It  was  stipulated  by  an 
article  in  the  Treaty  that  one  half  of  these  demands  should 
be  paid  in  cash  as  soon  as  the  Treaty  should  be  ratified — 
and  that  five  thousand  dollars  should  be  appropriated 
annually,  for  their  liquidation,  until  they  were  paid  off. 

It  was  proposed  by  Kee-o-kuk  in  his  speech  (and  it  is  a 
fact  worthy  of  being  known,  for  such  has  been  the  pro- 
position in  every  Indian  Treaty  that  I  ever  attended),  that 
the  first  preparatory  stipulation  on  the  part  of  the  Govern- 
ment, should  be  to  pay  the  requisite  sum  of  money  to 
satisfy  all  their  creditors,  who  were  then  present,  and  whose 
accounts  were  handed  in,  acknowledged  and  admitted. 

The  price  paid  for  this  tract  of  land  is  a  liberal  one,  com- 
paratively speaking,  for  the  usual  price  heretofore  paid  for 
Indian  lands,  has  been  one  and  a  half  or  three  quarter 
cents,  (instead  of  seventy -five  cents)  per  acre,  for  land  which 
Government  has  since  sold  out  for  ten  shillings. 

Even  one  dollar  per  acre  would  not  have  been  too  much 
to  have  paid  for  this  tract,  for  every  acre  of  it  can  be  sold  in  one 
year,  for  ten  shillings  per  acre,  to  actual  settlers,  so  desirable 
and  so  fertile  is  the  tract  of  country  purchased.  These 
very  people  sold  to  Government  a  great  part  of  the  rich 
states  of  Illinois  and  Missouri,  at  the  low  rates  above- 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


721 


mentioned ;  and  this  small  tract  being  the  last  that  they 
can  ever  part  with,  without  throwing  themselves  back  upon 
their  natural  enemies,  it  was  no  more  than  right  that 
Oovernment  should  deal  with  them,  as  they  huve  done, 
liberally. 

As  an  evidence  of  the  immediate  value  of  that  tract  of 
land  to  Government,  and,  as  a  striking  instance  of  the  over> 
whelming  torrent  of  emigration,  to  the  "  Far  "West,"  I  will 
relate  the  following  occurrence  which  took  place  at  the 
close  of  the  Treaty : — After  the  Treaty  was  signed  and 
witnessed,  Governor  Dodge  addressed  a  few  very  judicious 
and  admonitory  sentences  to  the  chiefs  and  braves,  which 
he  finished  by  requesting  them  to  move  their  families,  and 
all  their  property  from  this  tract,  within  one  month,  which 
time  he  would  allow  them  to  make  room  for  the  whites. 

Considerable  excitement  was  created  among  the  chiefk 
and  braves,  by  this  suggestion,  and  a  hearty  laugh  ensued, 
the  cause  of  which  was  soon  after  explained  by  one  of  them 
in  the  following  manner : — 

"My  father,  we  have  to  laugh — we  rei^uire  no  time  to 
move — we  have  all  left  the  lands  already,  and  sold  our 
wigwams  to  Chemokemons  (white  men) — some  for  one 
hundred,  and  some  for  two  hundred  dollars,  before  we 
came  to  this  Treaty.  There  are  already  four  hundred 
Chemokemons  on  the  land,  and  several  hundred  more  on 
their  way  moving  in ;  and  three  days  before  we  came  away, 
one  Chemokemon  sold  his  wigwam  to  another  Chemo- 
kemon  for  two  thousand  dollars,  to  build  a  great  town." 

In  this  wise  is  this  fair  land  filling  up,  one  hundred  miles 
pr  more  West  of  the  Mississippi — not  with  barbarians,  but 
with  people  from  the  East,  enlightened  and  intelligent — 
with  industry  and  perseverance  that  will  soon  rear  from 
the  soil  all  the  luxuries,  and  add  to  the  surface,  all  the 
taste  and  comforts  of  Eastern  refinement. 

The  Treaty  itself,  in  all  its  forms,  was  a  scene  of  interest, 
and  Kee-oTcuh  was  the  principal  speaker,  on  the  occasion, 
being  recognized  as  the  head  chief  of  the  tribe.    He  is  a 


'  1 


^.f 


■St'lS 


722 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES. 


very  subtle  and  dignified  man,  and  well  fitted  to  wield  the 
destinies  uf  his  nation.  The  poor  dethroned  monarch,  old 
Black  Hawk,  was  present,  and  looked  an  objeot  of  pity. 
With  an  old  frook  coat  and  brown  hat  on,  and  a  caue  in 
his  hand,  he  stood  the  whole  time  outside  of  the  group,  and 
in  dumb  and  dismal  silence,  with  his  sons  by  the  side  of 
him,  and  also  his  qtumdam  aide-de  camp,  Nah-pope,  and  the 
prophet.  They  were  not  allowed  to  speak,  nor  even  to 
sign  the  Treaty.  Nah-pope  rose,  however,  and  commenced 
a  very  earnest  speech  on  the  subject  of  temperance  I  but 
Go-vernor  Dodge  ordered  him  to  sit  down,  (as  being  out  of 
order),  which  probably  saved  him  from  a  much  more  pe- 
remptory command  from  Kee-o-kuh,  who  was  rising  at  that 
moment,  with  looks  on  his  face  that  the  Devil  himself 
might  have  shrunk  from.  This  Letter  I  must  end  here, 
observing,  before  I  say  adieu,  that  I  have  been  catering  for 
the  public  during  this  summer  at  a  difficult  (and  almost 
cnuil)  rate;  and  if,  in  my  over-exertions  to  grasp  at  material 
for  their  future  entertainment,  the  cold  hand  of  winter 
should  be  prematurely  laid  upon  me  and  my  works  in  this 
Northern  region,  the  world,  I  am  sure,  will  be  disposed  to 
pity,  rather  than  censure  me  for  my  delay. 


OSCEOLA. 

LETTER  No.  LVII. 

FORT  MOULTRIE,  SOUTH  CAROLINA. 

Since  the  date  of  my  last  Letter,  I  have  been  a  wanderer 
as  usual,  and  am  now  at  least  two  thousand  miles  from  the 
place  where  it  was  dated.  At  this  place  are  held  two 
hundred  and  fifty  of  the  Seminolees  and  Euchees,  prisoners 
of  war,  who  are  to  be  kept  here  awhile  longer,  and  trans- 
ferred to  the  country  assigned  them,  seven  hundred  miles 

(723) 


m 


I 


111 


ii'" 


% 


t  ■ 


-I 


724 


LETTERS  AND  XOTKS  OX  THE 


"West  of  the  Mississippi,  and  fourteen  hundred  from  thi«. 
The  famous  Osceo-la  is  amongst  the  prisoners;  and  also 
Mick-e-no-pah,  the  heod  chief  of  the  tribe,  and  Cloud,  King 
Philip,  and  several  others  of  the  distinguished  men  of  the 
nation,  who  have  celebrated  themselves  in  the  war  that 
is  now  waging  with  the  United  States  Government. 

There  is  scarcely  any  need  of  my  undertaking  in  an 
epistle  of  this  kind,  to  give  a  full  account  of  this  tribe,  of 
their  early  history,  of  their  former  or  present  location,  or 
of  their  present  condition,  and  the  disastrous  war  they  are 
now  waging  with  the  United  States  Government,  who  have 
held  an  invading  army  in  their  country  for  four  or  five 
years,  endeavoring  to  dispossess  them  and  compel  them  to 
remove  to  the  West,  in  compliance  with  Treaty  stipulations. 
These  are  subjects  generally  understood  already  (being  mat- 
ters of  history),  and  I  leave  them  to  the  hands  of  those  who 
will  do  them  more  complete  justice  than  I  could  think  of 
doing  at  this  time,  with  the  little  space  that  I  could  allow 
them ;  in  the  confident  hope  that  justice  may  be  meted  out 
to  them,  at  least  by  the  historian,  if  it  should  not  be  by 
their  great  Guardian,  who  takes  it  upon  herself,  as  with  all 
the  tribes,  afifectionately  to  call  them  her  "  red  children^ 

For  those  who  know  nothing  of  the  Seminolees,  it  may 
be  proper  for  me  here  just  to  remark,  that  they  are  a  tribe 
of  three  or  four  thousand,  occupying  the  peninsula  of 
Florida — and  speaking  the  language  of  the  Creeks,  of 
whom  I  have  heretofore  spoken,  and  who  were  once  a  part 
of  the  same  tribe. 

The  word  Seraiholee  is  a  Creek  word,  signifying  run- 
aways; a  name  which  was  given  to  a  part  of  the  Creek 
nation,  who  emigrated  in  a  body  to  a  country  farther 
South,  where  they  have  lived  to  the  present  day ;  and  con- 
tinually extended  their  dominions  by  overruning  the  once 
numerous  tribe  that  occupied  the  Southern  extremity  of 
the  Florida  Cape,  called  the  Euchees ;  whom  they  have  at 
last  nearly  annihilated,  and  taken  the  mere  remnant  of 
them  in,  as  a  part  of  their  tribe.    With  this  tribe  the 


■rOf, 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


725 


Government  have  been  engaged  in  deadly  and  disastrous 
warfare  for  four  or  five  years ;  endeavoring  to  remove  them 
from  their  lands,  in  compliance  with  a  Treaty  stipulation, 
which  the  Government  claims  to  have  been  justly  made, 
and  which  the  Seminolees  aver,  was  not.  Many  mUlions  of 
mone^,  and  some  hundreds  of  lives  of  officers  and  men 
have  already  been  expended  in  the  attempt  to  dislodge 
them ;  and  much  more  will  doubtless  be  yet  spent  before 
they  can  be  removed  from  their  almost  impenetrable 
swamps  and  hiding-places,  to  which  they  can,  for  years  to 
come,  retreat ;  and  from  which  they  will  be  enabled,  and  no 
doubt  disposed,  in  their  exasperated  state,  to  make  con- 
tinual sallies  upon  the  unsuspecting  and  defenceless  inhabi- 
tants of  the  country ;  carrying  their  relentless  feelings  to  be 
reeked  in  cruel  vengeance  on  the  unoffending  and  innocent.* 
The  prisoners  who  are  held  here,  to  the  number  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty,  men,  women,  and  children,  have  been 
captured  during  the  recent  part  of  this  warfare,  and  amongst 
them  the  distinguished  personages  whom  I  named  a  few 
moments  since ;  of  these,  the  most  conspicuous  at  this  time 
is  Osce-o-la,  commonly  called  Powell,  as  he  is  generally 
supposed  to  be  a  half-breed,  the  son  of  a  white  man  (by  that 
name),  and  a  Creek  woman. 

*  The  above  Letter  was  written  in  the  winter  of  1833,  and  by  the 
Secretary  at  War's  Report,  a  year  and  a  half  ago,  it  is  seen  that  thirty, 
six  millions  of  dollars  had  been  already  expended  in  the  Seminolee  war, 
as  well  as  the  lives  of  twelve  or  foarteen  hundred  officers  and  men,  and 
defenceless  inhabitants,  who  have  fallen  victims  to  the  violence  of  the 
enraged  savages  and  diseases  of  the  climate.  And  at  the  present  date, 
August  1841,  I  see  by  the  American  papers,  that  the  war  is  being  pro- 
secuted at  this  time  with  its  wonted  vigor ;  and  that  the  best  troops  in 
our  country,  and  the  lives  of  our  most  valued  officers  are  yet  jeapordised 
in  the  deadly  swamps  of  Florida,  with  little  more  certainty  of  a  speedy 
termination  of  the  war,  than  there  appeared  five  years  ago. 

The  world  will  pardon  me  for  saying  no  more  of  this  inglorious  war, 
for  it  will  be  seen  that  I  am  too  near  the  end  of  my  book,  to  afford  it  the 
requisite  space ;  and  as  an  American  citizen,  I  would  pray,  amongst 
thousands  of  others,  that  all  books  yet  to  be  made,  might  have  as  good 
an  excuse  for  leaving  it  out. 


!    I' 


i 

1            ' 

1 

V    1 

:::    i 

1 

726 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


I  have  painted  him  precisely  in  the  costume  in  which  he 
Btood  for  his  picture,  even  to  a  string  and  a  trinket.  He 
wore  three  ostrich  feathers  in  his  head,  and  a  turban  made 
of  a  vari-colored  cotton  shawl — and  his  dress  was  chiefly 
of  calicos,  with  a  handsome  bead  sash  or  belt  around  his 
waist,  and  his  rifle  in  his  hand. 

This  young  man  is,  no  doubt,  an  extraordinary  charac- 
ter, as  he  has  been  for  some  years  reputed,  and  doubtless 
looked  upon  by  the  Seminolees  as  the  master  spirit  and 
leader  of  the  tribe,  although  he  is  not  a  chief.  From  his 
boyhood,  he  had  led  an  energetic  and  desperate  sort  of  life, 
which  had  secured  for  him  a  conspicuous  position  in  society ; 
and  when  the  desperate  circumstances  of  war  were  agitating 
his  country,  he  at  once  took  a  conspicuous  and  decided 
part ;  and  in  some  way,  whether  he  deserved  it  or  not,  ac- 
quired an  influence  and  a  name  that  soon  sounded  to  the 
remotest  parts  of  the  United  States,  and  amongst  the  In- 
dian tribes,  to  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

This  gallant  fellow,  who  was,  undoubtedly,  captured  a 
few  months  since,  with  several  of  his  chiefs  and  warriors, 
was  at  first  brought  in  to  Fort  Mellon,  in  Florida,  and  after- 
wards sent  to  this  place  for  safe-keeping,  where  he  is 
grieving  with  a  broken  spirit,  and  ready  to  die,  cursing 
white  men,  no  doubt,  to  the  end  of  his  breath. 

The  surgeon  of  the  post.  Dr.  Weedon,  who  has  charge 
of  him,  and  has  been  with  him  ever  since  he  was  taken 
prisoner,  has  told  me  from  day  to  day,  that  he  will  not  live 
many  weeks ;  and  I  have  my  doubts  whether  he  will,  from 
the  rapid  decline  I  have  observed  in  his  face  and  his  flesh 
since  I  arrived  here. 

During  the  time  that  I  have  been  here,  I  have  occupied 
a  large  room  in  the  officers'  quarters,  by  the  politeness  of 
Captain  Morrison,  who  has  command  of  the  post,  and 
charge  of  the  prisoners ;  and  on  every  evening,  after  paint- 
ing all  day  at  their  portraits,  I  have  had  Os-ce-ola,  Mick-e- 
no-pa.  Cloud,  Co-a-had-jo,  King  Philip,  and  others  in  my 
room,  until  a  late  hour  at  night,  where  they  have  taken 


3 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS, 


727 


great  pains  to  give  me  an  account  of  the  war,  and  the  mode 
in  -which  they  were  captured,  of  which  they  cwnplain  bit- 
terly. 

I  am  fully  convinced,  from  all  that  I  have  seen  and 
learned  from  the  lips  of  Osceola,  and  from  the  chiefe  who 
are  around  him,  that  he  is  a  most  extraordinary  man,  and 
one  entitled  to  a  better  fate. 

In  stature  he  is  about  at  mediocrity,  with  an  elastic  and 
graceful  movement;  in  his  face  he  is  good  looking,  with 
rather  an  effeminate  smile ;  but  of  so  peculiar  a  character, 
that  the  world  may  be  ransacked  over  without  finding 
another  just  like  it.  In  his  manners,  and  all  his  move- 
ments in  company,  he  is  polite  and  gentlemanly,  though 
all  his  conversation  is  entirely  in  his  own  iongue ;  and  his 
general  appearance  and  actions,  those  of  a  Ml-blooded  and 
wild  Indian. 


I  .  I 


V    i 


m 


Mr 


r 


LETTER  No.  LVIII. 
NORTH  WESTERN  FRONTIER. 

Havinq  finished  my  travels  in  the  '*  Far  West"  for  awhile, 
and  being  detained  a  little  time,  sans  occnpation,  in  my 
nineteenth  or  twentieth  transit  of  what  in  common  parlance 
is  denominated  the  Frontier ;  I  have  seated  myself  down  to 
give  some  further  account  of  it,  and  of  the  doings  and 
habits  of  people,  both  red  and  white,  who  live  upon  it. 

The  Frontier  may  properly  be  denominated  the  fleeting 

and  unsettletl  line  extending  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to 

the  Lake  of  the  Woods,  a  distance  of  three  thousand  miles ; 

which  indefinitely  separates  civilized  from  Indian   popu- 

(728) 


I*  1; 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


729 


lation— a  moving  barrier,  where  the  unrestrained  and 
natural  propensities  of  two  people  are  concentrated,  iu  an 
atmosphere  of  lawless  iniquity,  that  offends  Heaven,  and 
holds  in  mutual  ignorance  of  each  other,  the  honorable  and 
irtuous  portions  of  two  people,  which  seem  destined  never 
t  :>  meet 

From  what  has  been  said  in  the  foregoing  epistles,  the 
r  ader  will  agree  that  I  have  pretty  closely  adhered  to  my 
p  omise  made  in  the  commencement  of  them ;  that  I  should 
confine  my  remarks  chiefly  to  people  I  have  visited,  and 
customs  that  I  have  seen,  rather  than  by  taking  up  his  time 
with  matter  that  might  be  gleaned  from  books.  He  will 
also  agree,  that  I  have  principally  devoted  my  pages,  as  I 
promised,  to  an  account  of  the  condition  and  customs  of 
those  Indians  whom  I  have  found  entirely  beyond  the 
Frontier,  acting  and  living  as  Nature  taught  them  to  live 
and  act  without  the  examples,  and  consequently  without 
the  taints  of  civilized  encroachments. 

He  will,  I  flatter  myself,  also  yield  me  some  credit 
for  devoting  the  time  and  space  I  have  occupied  in  my  first 
appeal  to  the  world,  entirely  to  the  condition  and  actions 
of  the  living,  rather  than  fatiguing  him  with  theories  of  the 
iiv'ng  or  the  dead.  I  have  theories  enough  of  my  own, 
and  have  as  closely  examined  the  condition  and  customs  of 
these  people  on  the  Frontier,  as  those  living  beyond  it — 
and  also  their  past,  and  present,  and  prospective  history ; 
but  the  reader  will  have  learned,  that  my  chief  object  in 
these  Letters,  has  been  not  only  to  describe  what  I  have 
seen,  but  of  those  things,  such  as  I  deemed  the  most  novel 
and  least  understood ;  which  has  of  course  confined  my 
remarks  heretofore,  mostly  to  the  character  and  condition  of 
those  tribes  living  entirely  in  a  state  of  nature. 

And  as  I  have  now  a  little  leisure,  and  no  particular  tribes 
before  me  to  speak  of,  the  reader  will  allow  me  to  glance 
ray  eye  over  the  whole  Indian  country  for  awhile,  both 
along  the  Frontier  and  beyonr'.  it ;  taking  a  hasty  and  brief 
survey  of  them,  and  their  prospects  in  the  aggregate ;  and 


m 


7S0 


LKTTKR3  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


by  not  seeing  quite  as  distinctly  as  I  have  been  in  the  habit 
of  doing  heretofore,  taking  pains  to  tell  a  little  more  em- 
phatically what  I  think,  and  what  I  have  thought  of  those 
things  that  I  have  seen,  and  yet  have  told  but  in  part. 

I  have  seen  a  vast  many  of  these  wild  people  in  my 
travels,  it  wjll  be  admitted  by  all.  And  I  have  had  toils 
and  difl&culties,  and  dangers  to  encounter  in  paying  them 
my  visits ;  yet  I  have  had  my  pleasures  as  I  went  along, 
in  shaking  their  friervdly  hands,  that  never  had  felt  the 
contaminating  touch  of  money,  or  the  withering  embrace 
of  pockets ;  I  have  shared  the  comforts  of  their  hospitable 
wigwams,  and  always  have  been  preserved  unharmed  in 
their  country.  And  if  I  have  spoken,  or  am  to  speak  of 
them,  with  a  seeming  biaa,  the  reader  will  know  what  al- 
lowance to  make  for  me,  who  am  standing  as  the  champion 
of  a  people,  who  have  treated  me  kindly,  of  whom  I  feel 
bound  to  speak  well ;  and  who  have  no  means  of  speaking 
for  themselves. 

Of  the  dead,  to  speak  kindly,  and  to  their  character  to 
render  justice,  is  always  a  praiseworthy  act ;  but  it  is  yet 
far  more  charitable  to  extend  the  hand  of  liberality,  or  to 
hold  the  scale  of  justice,  to  the  living  who  are  able  to  feel 
the  benefit  of  it.  Justice  to  the  dead  is  generally  a  charity, 
inasmuch  as  it  is  a  kindness  to  living  friends ;  but  to  the 
poor  Indian  dead,  if  it  is  meted  out  at  all,  which  is  seldom 
the  case,  it  is  thrown  to  the  grave  with  him,  where  he  has 
generally  gone  without  friends  left  behind  him  to  inherit 
the  little  fame  that  is  reluctantly  allowed  him  while  living, 
and  much  less  likely  to  bo  awarded  to  him  when  dead.  Of 
the  thouFT,nds  and  millions,  therefore,  of  these  poor  fellows 
who  are  dead,  and  whom  we  have  thrown  into  their  graves, 
there  is  nothing  that  I  could  now  say,  that  would  do  them 
any  good,  or  that  would  not  answer  the  world  as  well  at  a 
future  time  as  at  the  present ;  while  there  is  a  debt  that  we 
are  owing  to  those  of  tht.  m  who  are  yet  living,  which  I 
think  justly  demands  our  attention,  and  all  our  sympathies 
at  this  moment. 


ibit 
em- 
Lose 

my 
toils 
ihem 
long, 
t  the 
brace 
itable 
ed  in 
sak  of 
lat  al- 
mpion 

I  feel 
eaking 

icter  to 
t  is  yet 
y,  or  to 

to  feel 
cbarity, 
t  to  the 

seldom 
e  be  has 
o  inherit 
,e  living, 

cad.  Of 
)r  fellows 
ir  graves, 

do  them 

well  at  a 
3t  that  we 

•,  vrbich  I 
ympiithies 


NORTH   AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


781 


The  peculiar  condition  in  which  we  are  obliged  to  con- 
template these  most  unfortunate  people  at  this  time 

hastening  to  destruction  and  extinction,  as  they  evidently 
are,  lays  an  uncompromising  claim  upon  the  sympathies  of 
the  civilized  world,  and  gives  a  deep  interest  and  value  to 
such  records  as  are  trrlv  made — setting  up,  and  perpet- 
uating from  the  life,  their  .ne  native  character  and  customs. 

If  the  great  family  of  North  American  Indians  were  all 
dying  by  a  scourge  or  epidemic  of  the  country,  it  would  be 
natural,  and  a  virtue,  to  weep  for  them ;  but  merely  to 
sympathize  with  them  (and  but  partially  to  do  that)  when 
they  are  dying  at  our  hands,  and  rendering  their  glebe  to 
our  possession,  would  be  to  subvert  the  simplest  law  of 
Nature,  and  turn  civilized  man,  with  all  his  boasted  virtues, 
back  to  worse  than  savage  barbarism. 

Justice  to  a  nation  who  are  dying,  need  never  be  expected 
from  the  hands  of  their  destroyers ;  and  where  injustice  and 
injury  are  visited  upon  the  weak  and  defenceless,  from  ten 
thousand  hands — from  Governments — monopolies  and  indi- 
viduals — the  offence  is  lost  in  the  inseverable  iniquity  in 
which  all  join,  and  for  which  nobody  is  answerable,  unless 
it  be  for  their  respective  amounts  at  a  final  day  of 
retribution. 

Long  and  cruel  experience  has  well  proved  that  it  is 
impossible  for  enlightened  Governments  or  money  making 
individuals  to  deal  with  these  credulous  and  unsophisticated 
people,  without  the  sin  of  injustice ;  but  the  humble  biog- 
rapher or  historian,  who  goes  amongst  them  from  a  different 
motive,  may  come  out  of  their  country  with  his  hands  and 
his  conscience  clean,  and  himself  an  anomaly,  a  white  man 
dealing  with  Indians,  and  meting  out  justice  to  them ;  which 
I  hope  it  may  be  my  good  province  to  do  with  my  pen  and 
my  brush,  with  which  at  least,  I  will  have  the  singular  and 
valuable  satisfaction  of  having  done  them  no  harm. 

With  this  view,  and  a  desire  to  render  justice  to  my 
readers  also,  I  have  much  yet  to  say  of  the  general  appear- 
ance and  character  of  the  Indians — of  their  condition  and 


782 


LSTTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


treatment ;  and  far  more,  I  fear,  than  I  can  allot  to  the  little 
space  I  have  designed  for  the  completion  of  these  epistles. 

Of  the  general  appearance  of  the  North  American  In- 
dians, much  might  be  yet  said,  that  would  be  new  and 
instructive.  In  stature^  as  I  have  already  said,  there  are 
some  of  the  tribes  that  are  considerably  above  the  ordinary 
height  of  man,  and  others  that  are  evidently  below  it; 
allowing  their  average  to  be  about  equal  to  that  of  their 
fellow-men  in  the  civilized  world.  In  girth  they  are  less, 
and  lighter  in  their  limbs,  and  almost  entirely  free  from 
corpulency  or  useless  flesh.  Their  bones  are  lighter,  their 
skulls  are  thinner,  and  their  muscles  less  hard  than  those 
of  their  civilized  neighbors,  excepting  in  the  legs  and  feet, 
where  they  are  brought  into  more  continual  action  by  their 
violent  exercise  on  foot  and  on  horseback,  which  swells  the 
muscles  and  gives  them  great  strength  in  those  limbs,  which 
is  often  quite  as  conspicuous  as  the  extraordinary  develop- 
ment of  muscles  in  the  shoulders  and  arms  of  our  laboring 
men. 

Although  the  Indians  are  generally  narrow  in  the 
shoulders,  and  less  powerful  with  the  arms,  yet  it  does  not 
always  happen  by  any  means,  that  they  arc  so  effeminate 
as  they  look,  and  so  widely  inferior  in  brachial  strength,  as 
the  tipectator  is  apt  to  believe,  from  the  smooth  and  rounded 
appearance  of  their  limbs.  The  contrast  between  one  of 
our  laboring  men  when  he  denudes  his  limbs,  and  the  iigure 
of  a  naked  Indian  is  to  be  sure  very  striking,  and  entirely 
too  much  so,  for  the  actual  difference  in  the  power  of  the 
two  persons.  There  are  several  reasons  for  this  which 
account  for  so  disproportionate  a  contrast  and  should  be 
named. 

The  laboring  man  who  is  using  his  limbs  the  greater 
part  of  his  life  in  lifting  heavy  weights,  &c.,  sweats  them 
with  the  weight  of  clothes  which  lie  has  on  him,  which 
Boftens  the  integuments  and  the  flesh,  leaving  the  muscles 
to  stand  out  in  more  conspicuous  relief  when  they  are 
exposed :  whilst  the  Indian,  who  exercises  his  limbs  for  the 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIAX3. 


783 


most  of  his  life  denuded  and  exposed  to  the  air,  gets  over 
his  muscles  a  thicker  and  more  compact  layer  of  integuments 
which  hide  them  from  the  view,  leaving  the  casual  spectator 
who  sees  them  only  at  rest,  to  suppose  them  too  decidedly 
inferior  to  those  which  are  found  amongst  people  of  his  own 
color.  Of  muscular  strength,  in  the  legs,  I  have  met  many 
of  th«  most  extraordinary  instances  in  the  Indian  country 
that  ever  I  have  seen  in  my  life ;  and  I  have  watched  and 
studied  such  for  hours  together  with  utter  surprise  and 
admiration,  in  the  violent  exertions  of  their  dances,  where 
they  leap  and  jump  with  every  nerve  strung,  and  every 
muscle  swelled,  till  their  legs  will  often  look  like  a  bundle 
of  ropes,  rather  than  a  mass  of  human  flesh.  And  from  all 
that  I  have  seen,  I  am  inclined  to  say,  that  whatever  differ- 
ences there  may  be  between  the  North  American  Indians 
and  their  civilized  neighbors  in  the  above  respects,  they 
are  decidedly  the  results  of  different  habits  of  life  and 
modes  of  education  rather  than  of  any  difference  in  consti- 
tution. And  I  would  also  venture  the  assertion,  that  he 
who  would  see  the  Indian  in  a  condition  to  judge  of  his 
muscles,  must  see  him  in  motion ;  and  he  who  would  get  a 
perfect  study  for  an  Hercules  or  an  Atlas,  should  take  a 
stone-mason  for  the  upper  part  of  his  figure,  and  a  Caman- 
chee  or  a  Blackfoot  Indian  from  the  waist  downwards  to  the 
feet. 

There  is  a  general  and  striking  character  in  the  facial 
outline  of  the  North  American  Indians,  which  is  bold  and 
free,  and  would  seem  at  once  to  stamp  them  as  distinct  from 
natives  of  other  parts  of  the  world.  Their  noses  are 
generally  prominent  and  aquiline — and  the  whole  face,  if 
divested  of  paint  and  copper-color,  would  seem  to  approach 
to  the  bold  and  European  character.  Many  travellers  have 
thought  that  their  eyes  were  smaller  than  those  of 
Europeans ;  and  there  is  good  cause  for  one  to  believe  so, 
if  he  judges  from  first  imprcpsions,  without  taking  pains  to 
inquire  into  the  truth  and  causes  of  things.  I  have  been 
struck,  as  most  travellcs  no  doubt  have,  with  the  want  of 


I  Ilk 


ilf^  I 


ll. 

*  . « 

Iffil 

[l 

HP 

w 

f  3 

784 


LBTTBBS  AND  Nr  TK8  OS  TUB 


expansion  and  app;iront  sn;  illness  of  tlio  Indians'  eyes, 
which  I  havo  found  upon  examin  it  ion,  to  be  princip.iUy  the 
effect  of  continual  exposure  to  the  rays  of  the  sun  and  the 
wind,  without  the  shields  that  are  used  by  tlie  civilized 
world;  and  also  when  in-doors,  .aid  free  from  those  causes, 
subjected  generally  to  one  more  distressing,  and  calculated 
to  produce  similar  results,  the  auioke  that  almost  continually 
hangs  about  their  wigwams,  which  necessarily  contracts 
the  lids  of  the  eyes,  forbidding  that  full  flame  and  expansion 
of  the  eye,  that  the  cool  and  clear  shades  of  our  civilized 
domicils  ore  calculated  to  promote. 

The  teeth  of  the  Indians  are  generally  regular  and  sound, 
and  wonderfully  preserved  to  old  age ;  owing,  no  doubt,  to 
the  fact  that  they  live  without  the  spices  of  life — without 
saccharine  and  without  salt,  which  arc  equally  destructive 
to  teeth,  in  civilized  communities.  Their  teeth  though 
bound,  are  not  white,  having  a  yellowish  cast ;  but  for  the 
same  reason  that  a  negro's  teeth  are  *'  like  ivory,"  they 
look  white — set  as  tliey  are  in  bronze,  as  any  one  with  a 
tolerable  set  of  teeth  can  easily  test,  by  painting  his  face  the 
color  of  an  Indian,  and  grinning  for  a  moment  in  his 
looking-glass. 

Beards  they  generally  have  not,  esteeming  them  great 
vulgarities,  and  using  every  possible  means  to  eradicate 
them  whenever  they  are  so  unfortunate  as  to  be  annoyed 
with  them.  Different  writers  have  been  very  much  at 
variance  on  this  subject  ever  since  the  first  accounts  given 
of  these  people  ;  and  there  seems  still  an  unsatisfied  ouri- 
osity  on  the  subject,  which  I  would  be  glad  to  say  that  I 
could  put  entirely  at  rest. 

From  the  best  information  that  I  could  obtain  amongst 
forty-eight  tribes  that  I  havo  visited,  I  feel  authorized  to 
say,  that,  amongst  the  wild  tribes,  where  they  have  made 
no  efforts  to  imitate  white  men,  at  least,  the  proportion  of 
eighteen  out  of  twenty,  by  nature,  are  entirely  without  the 
appearance  of  a  beard ;  and  of  the  very  few  who  have  them 
by  nature,  nineteen  out  of  twenty  eradicate  it  by  plucking 


NORTU  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


786 


]t  out  several  times  in  succession,  precisely  at  the  ago  of 
puberty ,  when  its  growth  is  successfully  arrested ;  and  oc- 
casionally one  may  be  seen,  who  has  omitted  to  destroy  it 
at  *'.iat  time,  and  subjects  his  chin  to  the  repeated  pains  of 
its  extractions,  which  he  is  performing  with  a  pair  of  clam- 

shells  or  other  tweezf      nearly  every  day  of  bis  life and 

occasionally  again,  i....  atiU  more  rarely,  one  is  found,  who 
from  carelessness  or  '\c1i  nation,  has  omitted  both  of  these, 
and  is  allowing  it  tf>  v  to  the  length  of  an  inch  or  two 
on  his  chin  in  whicn  ^aso  it  ia  generally  very  soft,  and  ex- 
ceedingly sparse.  Wherever  there  is  a  cross  of  the  blood 
with  the  European  or  African,  which  is  frequently  the  case 
along  the  frontier,  a  proportionate  beard  is  the  result ;  and 
it  is  allowed  to  grow,  or  is  plucked  out  with  much  toil,  and 
with  great  pain. 

There  has  been  much  speculation,  and  great  variety  of 
opinions,  as  to  the  results  of  the  intercourse  between  the 
European  and  African  population  with  the  Indians  on  the 
borders ;  and  T  would  not  undertake  to  decide  so  difficult 
a  question,  though  I  cannot  help  but  express  my  opinion, 
which  is  made  up  from  the  vast  many  instances  that  1  have 
seen,  that  generally  speaking,  these  half-breed  specimens 
are  in  both  instances  a  decided  deterioration  from  the  two 
stocks  from  which  they  have  sprung;  which  I  grant  may 
be  the  consequence  that  generally  flows  from  illicit  inter- 
course, and  from  the  inferior  rank  in  which  they  are  held 
by  both,  (which  is  mostly  confined  to  the  lowest  and  most 
degraded  portions  of  society),  rather  than  from  any  consti- 
tutional objection,  necessarily  growing  out  of  the  amalga- 
mation. 

The  finest  built  and  most  powerful  men  that  I  have  ever 
yet  seen,  have  been  some  of  the  last- mentioned,  the  negro 
and  the  North  American  Indian  mixed,  of  equal  blood. 
These  instances  are  rare,  to  be  sure,  yet  are  occasionally  to 
be  found  amongst  the  Seminolees  and  Cherokees,  and  also 
amongst  the  Camanchees,  even,  and  the  Caddoes ;  and  I 
account  for  it  in  this  way :  From  the  slave-holding  States 


I! 

I 
I; 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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1.0 


I.I 


1.25 


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12.2 


1.4    111.6 


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Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


33  WEST  MAIN  STtKT 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  USSO 

(716)  •73-4S03 


786 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


to  the  heart  of  the  country  of  a  wild  tribe  of  Indians, 
through  almost  boundless  and  impassable  wilds  and 
swamps,  for  hundreds  of  miles,  it  requires  a  negro  of  ex 
traordinary  leg,  and  courage  and  perseverance,  to  travel 
absconding  from  his  maater^s  fields,  to  throw  himself  into 
a  tribe  of  wild  and  hostile  Indians,  for  the  enjoyment  of 
his  liberty ;  of  which  there  are  occisional  instances,  and 
when  they  succeed,  they  are  admired  by  the  savage ;  and 
as  they  come  with  a  good  share  of  the  tricks  and  arts  of 
civilization,  they  are  at  once  looked  upon  by  the  tribe,  as 
extraordinary  and  important  personages;  and  generally 
marry  the  daughters  of  chiefs,  thus  uniting  theirs  with  the 
best  blood  in  the  nation,  which  produce  these  remarkably 
fine  and  powerful  men  that  I  have  spoken  of  above. 

Although  the  Indians  of  North  America,  where  dissipa- 
tion and  disease  have  not  got  amongst  them,  undoubtedly 
are  a  longer  lived  and  healthier  race,  and  capable  of  endu- 
ring far  more  bodily  privation  and  pain,  than  civilized 
people  can ;  yet  I  do  not  believe  that  the  differences  are 
constitutional,  or  anything  more  than  the  results  of  ditfer- 
ent  circumstances,  and  a  different  education.  As  an  evi- 
dence in  support  of  this  assertion,  I  will  allude  to  the 
hundreds  of  men  whom  I  have  seen,  and  travelled  with, 
who  have  been  for  several  years  together  in  the  Bocky 
Mountains,  in  the  employment  of  the  Fur  Companies; 
where  they  have  lived  exactly  upon  the  Indian  system, 
continually  exposed  to  the  open  air  and  the  weather,  and 
to  all  the  disappointments  and  privations  peculiar  to  that 
mode  of  life ;  and  I  am  bound  to  say,  that  I  never  saw  a 
more  hardy  and  healthy  race  of  men  in  my  life,  whilst 
they  remain  in  the  country ;  nor  any  who  fall  to  pieces 
quicker  when  they  get  back  to  confined  and  dissipated 
life,  which  they  easily  fall  into  when  they  return  to  their 
own  country. 

The  Indian  women,  who  are  obliged  to  lead  lives  of  se- 
vere toil  and  drudgery,  become  exceedingly  healthy  and 
robust,  giving  easy  birth  and  strong  constitutions  to  their 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 

children ;  which,  in  a  measure,  may  account  for  the  sim- 
plicity  and  fewness  of  their  diseases,  which  in  infancy  and 
childhood  are  very  seldom  known  to  destroy  life. 

K  there  were  anything  like  an  equal  proportion  of  deaths 
amongst  the  Indian  children,  that  is  found  in  the  civilized 
portions  of  the  world,  the  Indian  country  would  long  since 
have  been  depopulated,  on  account  of  the  decided  dispro- 
portion of  children  they  produce.  It  is  a  very  rare  occur- 
rence for  an  Indian  woman  to  be  ^^blessed^^  with  more  than 
four  or  five  children  during  her  life ;  and  generally  speak- 
ing, they  seem  contented  with  two  or  three ;  when  in  civil- 
ized communities  it  is  no  uncommon  thing  for  a  woman  to 
be  the  mother  of  ten  or  twelve,  and  sometimes  to  bear  two 
or  even  three  at  a  time ;  of  which  I  never  recollect  to  have 
met  an  instance  during  all  my  extensive  travels  in  the  In- 
dian country,  though  it  is  possible  that  I  might  occasionally 
have  passed  them. 

For  so  striking  a  dissimilarity  as  there  evidently  is  be- 
tween these  people,  and  those  living  according  to  the  more 
artificial  modes  of  life,  in  a  subject,  seemingly  alike  natural 
to  both,  the  reader  will  perhaps  expect  me  to  furnish  some 
rational  and  decisive  causes.  Several  very  plausible  rea- 
sons have  been  advanced  for  such  a  deficiency  on  the  part 
of  the  Indians,  by  authors  who  have  written  on  the  subject, 
but  whose  opinions  I  should  be  very  slow  to  adopt ;  inas- 
much as  they  have  been  based  upon  the  Indian's  inferiority, 
(as  the  same  authors  have  taken  great  pains  to  prove  in 
most  other  respects),  to  their  pale-faced  neighbors. 

I  know  of  but  one  decided  cause  for  this  difference,  which 
I  would  venture  to  advance,  and  which  I  confidently 
believe  to  be  the  principal  obstacle  to  a  more  rapid  increase 
of  their  families ;  which  is  the  very  great  length  of  time 
that  the  women  submit  to  lactation,  generally  carrying  their 
children  at  the  breast  to  the  age  of  two,  and  sometimes 
three,  and  even  four  years  1 

The  astonishing  ease  and  success  with  which  the  Indian 
women  pass  through  the  most  painful  and  most  trying  of 

47 


rii 


{ 


t'l 


788 


LETT£BS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


all  human  difficulties,  which  fall  exclusively  to  the  lot  ot 
the  gentler  sex,  is  quite  equal,  I  have  found  from  con- 
tinued enquiry,  to  the  representations  that  have  often  been 
made  to  the  world  by  other  travellers,  who  have  gone 
before  me.  Many  people  have  thought  this  a  wise  pro- 
vision of  Nature,  in  framing  the  constitution  of  these 
people,  to  suit  the  exigencies  of  their  exposed  lives,  where 
they  are  beyond  the  pale  of  skilful  surgeons,  and  the  nice 
little  comforts  that  visit  the  sick  beds  in  the  enlightened 
world ;  but  I  never  have  been  willing  to  give  to  l^ature 
quite  so  much  credit,  for  stepping  aside  of  her  own  rule, 
which  I  believe  to  be  about  half  way  between— from  which 
I  am  inclined  to  think  that  the  refinements  of  art,  and  its 
spices,  have  led  the  civilized  world  into  the  pains  and 
perils  of  one  unnatural  extreme ;  whilst  the  extraordinary 
fatigue  and  exposure,  and  habits  of  Indian  life,  have  greatly 
released  them  from  natural  pains,  on  the  other.  With  this 
view  of  the  case,  I  fully  believe  that  Nature  has  dealt 
everywhere  impartially ;  and  that,  if  from  their  childhood, 
our  mothers  had,  like  the  Indian  women,  carried  loads  like 
beasts  of  burden — and  those  over  the  longest  journeys, 
and  highest  mountains — had  swam  the  broadest  rivers— and 
galloped  about  for  months  and  even  years  of  their  lives, 
astride  of  their  horses'  backs ;  we  should  have  taxed  them 
as  lightly  in  stepping  into  the  world,  as  an  Indian  pappooso 
does  its  mother,  who  ties  her  horse  under  the  shade  of  a 
tree  for  half  an  hour,  and  before  night  overtakes  her 
travelling  companions  with  her  in&nt  in  her  arms,  which 
has  often  been  the  case.     i. ;  <. 

As  to  the  probable  origin  of  the  North  American  Indians, 
which  is  one  of  the  first  questions  that  suggests  itself  to  the 
enquiring  mind,  and  will  be  per-  ^ns,  the  last  to  be  settled ; 
I  shall  have  little  to  say  in  thu  3,  for  the  reason  that  so 
abstruse  a  subject,  and  one  so  oarren  of  positive  proof, 
would  require  in  its  discussion  too  much  circumstantial 
evidence  for  my  allowed  limits;  which  I  am  sure  the 
world  will  agree  wiU  be  filled  up  much  more  consistently 


NORTH  AMEBICAN  INDIANS. 


789 


with  the  avowed  spirit  of  this  work,  by  treating  of  that 
which  admits  of  an  abundance  of  proof— their  actual 
existence,  their  customs — and  misfortunes;  and  the  sug- 
gestions of  modes  for  the  amelioration  of  their  condition. 

For  a  professed  philanthropist,  I  should  deem  it  cruel 
and  hypocritical  to  waste  time  and  space  iu  the  discussion 
of  a  subject,  ever  so  interesting,  (though  unimportant), 
when  the  present  condition  and  prospects  of  these  people 
are  calling  so  loudly  upon  the  world  for  justice,  and  for 
mercy;  and  when  their  evanescent  existence  and  customs 
are  turning,  as  it  were,  on  a  wheel  before  us,  but  soon  to  be 
lost;  whilst  the  mystery  of  their  origin  can  as  well  be 
fathomed  at  a  future  day  as  now,  and  recorded  with  their 
exit. 

Very  many  people  look  upon  the  savages  of  this  vast 
country,  as  an  "  Anomaly  in  Nature;"  and  their  existence 
and  origin,  and  locality,  things  that  needs  must  be  at  once 
accounted  for. 

Now,  if  the  world  will  allow  me,  (and  perhaps  they  may 
think  me  singular  for  saying  it),  I  would  say,  that  these 
are,  in  my  opinion,  natural  aud  simple;  and,  like  all  other 
works  of  Nature,  destined  to  remain  a  mystery  to  mortal 
man ;  and  if  man  be  anywhere  entitled  to  the  name  of  an 
anomaly,  it  is  he  who  has  departed  the  &rthest  from  the 
simple  walks  and  actions  of  his  nature. 

It  seems  natural  to  enquire  at  once  who  these  people  are, 
and  {torn  whence  they  came ;  but  this  question  is  natural, 
only  because  we  are  out  of  nature.  To  an  Indian,  such  a 
question  would  seem  absurd — he  would  stand  aghast  and 
astounded  at  the  anomaly  before  him — himself  upon  his 
own  ground,  "  where  the  Great  Spirit  made  him" — hunting 
in  his  own  forests;  if  an  exotic,  with  a  "pale  face,"  and 
from  across  the  ocean,  should  stand  before  him,  to  ask  him 
where  he  came  from,  and  how  he  got  there  I 

I  would  invite  this  querist,  this  votary  of  science,  to  sit 
upon  a  log  with  his  red  acquaintance,  and  answer  the 
following  questions  :—>  i  :■'■' 


!^!> ; 


740 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


"  You  white  man,  where  you  come  from  ?"  '    /  ' , 

"  From  England,  across  the  water." 

"  How  white  man  come  to  see  England  7  how  you  &ce 
come  to  get  white,  ha?" 

I  never  yet  have  been  made  to  see  the  necMAt^^  of  showing 
how  these  people  came  here^  or  that  th  oy  came  here  at  all ; 
which  might  easily  have  been  done,  by  the  way  of 
Behring's  Straits  from  the  North  of  Asia.  I  should  much 
rather  dispense  with  such  a  necessity^  than  undertake  the 
other  necessities  that  must  follow  the  establishment  of  this ; 
those  of  showing  how  the  savages  paddled  or  drifted  in 
their  canoes  from  this  Continent,  after  they  had  got  here,  or 
from  the  Asiatic  Coast,  and  landed  on  all  the  South  Sea 
Islands,  which  we  find  to  be  inhabited  nearly  to  the  South 
Pole.  For  myself,  I  am  quite  satisfied  with  the  fact,  which 
is  a  thing  certain,  and  to  be  relied  on,  that  this  Continent 
was  found  peopled  in  every  part,  by  savages ;  and  so,  nearly 
every  Island  in  the  South  Seas,  at  the  distance  of  several 
thousand  miles  from  either  Continent;  and  I  am  quite 
willing  to  surrender  the  mystery  to  abler  pens  than  my 
own — ^to  theorists  who  may  have  the  time,  and  the  means 
to  prove  to  the  world,  how  those  rude  people  wandered 
there  in  their  bark  canoes,  without  water  for  their  sub- 
sistence, or  compasses  to  guide  them  on  their  way. 

The  North  American  Indians,  and  all  the  inhabitants  of 
the  South  Sea  Islands,  speaking  some  two  or  three  hundred 
different  languages,  entirely  disimilar,  may  have  all  sprung 
from  one  stock ;  and  the  Almighty,  after  creating  man,  for 
some  reason  that  is  unfathomable  to  human  wisdom,  might 
have  left  the  whole  vast  universe,  with  its  severed  continents, 
and  its  thousand  distant  isles  everywhere  teeming  with 
necessaries  and  luxuries,  spread  out  for  man's  use ;  and  there 
to  vegetate  and  rot,  for  hundreds  and  even  thousands  of 
centuries,  until  ultimate,  abstract  accident  should  throw  him 
amongst  these  infinite  mysteries  of  creation  ;  the  least  and 
most  insignificant  of  which  have  been  created  and  placed 
by  design.    Human  reason  is  weak,  and  human  ignorance 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


741 


is  palpable,  when  man  attempts  to  approach  these  unsearch- 
able mysteries;  and  I  consider  human  discretion  well 
applied,  when  it  beckons  him  back  to  things  that  he  can 
comprehend ;  where  his  reason,  and  all  his  mental  energies 
can  be  employed  for  the  advancement  and  benefit  of  his 
species.  With  this  conviction,  I  feel  disposed  to  retreat  to 
the  ground  that  I  have  before  occupied— to  the  Indians  aa 
they  are,  and  whore  they  are;  recording  amongst  them 
living  evidences  whilst  they  live,  for  the  use  of  abler  theo- 
rists than  myself— who  may  labor  to  establish  their  origin, 
which  may  be  as  well  (and  perhaps  better)  done,  a  century 
hence,  than  at  the  present  day. 

The  reader  is  apprised,  that  I  have  nearly  filled  the  limits 
allotted  to  these  epistles ;  and  I  assure  him  that  a  vast  deal 
which  I  have  seen  must  remain  untold — whiht  from  the 
same  necessity,  I  must  tell  him  much  less  than  I  think,  and 
beg  to  be  pardoned  if  I  withold,  till  some  future  occasion, 
many  of  my  reasons  for,  thinking. 

I  believe,  with  many  others,  that  the  North  American 
Indians  are  a  mixed  people — that  they  have  Jewish  blood 
in  their  veins,  though  I  would  not  assert,  as  some  have 
undertaken  to  prove,  "  that  Cey  are  Jews,''^  or  that  they  are 
"the  ten  lost  tribes  of  Israeli  From  the  character  and  con- 
formation of  their  heads,  I  am  compelled  to  look  upon  them 
as  an  amalgam  race,  but  still  savages;  and  from  many  of 
their  customs,  which  seem  to  me,  to  be  peculiarly  Jewish, 
as  well  as  from  the  character  of  their  heads,  I  am  forced  to 
believe  that  some  part  of  those  ancient  tribes,  who  have 
been  dispersed  by  Christians  in  so  many  ways,  and  in  so 
many  different  eras,  have  found  their  way  to  this  country, 
where  they  have  entered  amongst  the  native  stock,  and 
have  lived  and  intermarried  with  the  Indians,  until  their 
identity  has  been  swallowed  up  and  lost  in  the  greater 
numbers  of  their  new  acquaintance,  save  the  bold  and  deci- 
ded character  which  they  have  bequeathed  to  the  Indian 
races ;  and  such  of  their  customs  as  the  Indians  were  pleased 
to  adopt,  and  which  they  have  preserved  to  the  present  day. 


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m 


III 


li  1 


-     ■! 


7lt2 


LITTERS  AKD  NOTES  ON  THE 


I  am  induced  to  believe  thus  from  the  very  many 
customs  which  I  have  witnessed  amongst  them,  that  appear 
to  be  decidedly  Jewish ;  and  many  of  them  so  peculiarly 
80,  that  it  would  seem  almost  impossible,  or  at  all  events, 
exceedingly  improbable,  that  two  people  in  a  state  of 
liature  should  have  hit  upon  them,  and  practiced  them  ex- 
actly alike.  -  ,         -.    -  >         ^. 

The  world  need  il6t  expect  me  to  decide  so  interesting 
and  difficult  a  question ;  but  I  am  sure  they  will  be  dis- 
posed to  hear  simply  my  opinion,  which  I  give  in  this  place, 
quite  briefly,  and  with  the  utmost  respectful  deference  to 
those  who  think  differently.  I  claim  no  merit  whatever, 
for  advancing  such  an  opinion,  which  is  not  new,  having 
been  in  several  works  advanced  to  the  world  by  far  abler 
pens  than  my  own,  with  volumes  of  evidence,  to  the  cata- 
logue of  which  I  feel  quite  sure  I  shall  be  able  to  add  some 
new  proofs  in  the  proper  place.  If  I  could  establish  the 
fact  by  positive  proof,  I  should  claim  a  great  deal  of 
applause  from  the  world,  and  should,  no  doubt,  obtain  it; 
but,  like  everything  relating  to  the  origin  and  early  history 
of  these  unchronicled  people,  I  believe  this  question  is  one 
that  will  never  be  settled,  but  will  remain  open  for  the 
opinions  of  the  world,  which  will  be  variously  given,  and 
that  upon  circumstantial  evidence  alone. 

I  am  compelled  to  believe  that  the  Continent  of  America, 
and  each  of  the  other  Continents,  have  had  their  aboriginal 
stocks,  peculiar  in  color  and  in  character — and  that  each  of 
these  native  stocks  has  undergone  repeated  mutations  (at 
periods,  of  which  history  has  kept  no  records),  by  erratic 
colonies  from  libroad,  that  have  been  engrafted  upon  them 
— mingling  with  them,  and  materially  affecting  their  origi- 
nal character.  By  this  process,  I  believe  that  the  North 
American  Indians,  even  where  we  find  them  in  their  wild- 
est condition,  are  Several  degrees  removed  from  their 
original  character ;  and  that  one  of  their  principal  alloys 
has  been  a  part  of  those  dispersed  people,  who  have  mingled 
their  blood  and  their  customs  with  them,  and  even  in  their 


KORTH  AMXRICAK  INDIANS. 


743 


new  disguise,  seem  destined  to  be  followed  up  with  oppres' 
sion  and  endless  persecution.  i/i'..'iii  lia  ,,uu£;';t.'. ;;  i<i 

The  first  and  most  striking  fact  amongst  tbe  North 
American  Indians  that  refers  us  to  the  Jews,  is  that  of  their 
worshipping  in  all  parts,  the  Great  Spirit,  or  Jehovah,  as 
the  Hebrews  were  ordered  to  do  by  divine  precept,  instead 
of  a  plurality  of  gods,  as  ancient  pagans  and  heathens  did 
^and  their  idols  of  their  own  formation.  The  North 
American  Indiana,  are  no  where  idolatora — they  appeal  at 
once  to  the  Great  Spirit,  and  know  of  no  mediator,  either 
personal  or  symbolical.         '  ''  's  '•'! 

The  Indian  tribes  are  everywhere  divided  into  bands, 
with  chiefs,  symbols,  badges,  &c.,  and  many  of  their 
modes  of  worship  I  have  found  exceedingly  like  those  of 
the  Mosaic  institution.  The  Jews  had  their  sanctum  sane- 
toruTTUf  and  so  may  it  be  said  the  Indians  have,  in  their 
council  or  medicine-houses,  which  are  always  held  as  sacred 
places.  As  the  Jews  had,  they  have  their  high-priests  and 
their  prophets.  Amongst  the  Indians  as  amongst  the 
ancient  Hebrews,  the  women  are  not  allowed  to  worship 
with  the  men — and  in  all  cases  also  they  eat  separately. 
The  Indians  everywhere,  like  the  Jews,  believe  that  they 
are  the  favorite  people  of  the  Great  Spirit,  and  they  are 
certainly,  like  those  ancient  people,  persecuted,  as  every 
man's  hand  seems  raised  against  them — and  they  like  the 
Jews,  destined  to  be  dispersed  over  the  world,  and  seem- 
ingly scourged  by  the  Almighty  and  despised  of  man. 

In  their  marriages,  the  Indians,  as  did  the  ancient  Jews, 
uniformly  buy  their  wives  by  giving  presents — and  in  many 
tribes,  very  closely  resemble  them  in  other  forms  and  cere- 
monies  of  their  marriages. 

In  their  preparations  for  war,  and  in  peace-making,  they 
are  strikingly  similar.  In  their  treatment  of  the  sick,  burial 
of  the  dead  and  mourning,  they  are  also  similar. 

In  their  bathing  and  ablutions,  at  all  seasons  of  the  ^ear, 
as  a  part  of  their  religious  observances — having  separate 
places  for  men  and  women  to  perform  these  immersions— 


74A 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


thej  resemble  again.  And  the  custom  amongst  the  women, 
of  absenting  themselves  during  the  lunar  influences,  is  ex- 
actly consonant  to  the  Mosaic  law.  This  custom  of  aeparation 
is  an  uniform  one  amongst  the  different  tribes,  as  far  as  I 
have  seen  them  in  their  primitive  state,  and  be  it  Jewish, 
natural  or  conventional,  it  is  an  indispensable  form  with 
these  wild  people,  who  are  setting  to  the  civilized  world,  this 
and  many  other  examples  of  decency  and  propriety,  only  to 
be  laughed  at  by  their  wiser  neighbors,  who,  rather  than 
award  to  the  red  man  any  merit  for  them,  have  taken  ex* 
ceeding  pains  to  call  them  but  the  results  of  ignorance  and 
superstition. 

So,  in  nearly  every  family  of  a  tribe,  will  be  found  a 
small  lodge,  large  enough  to  contain  one  person,  which  la 
erected  at  a  little  distance  from  the  family  lodge,  and  occu* 
pied  by  the  wife  or  the  daughter,  to  whose  possession  cir- 
cumstances allot  it ;  where  she  dwells  alone  until  she  is  pre- 
pared to  move  back,  and  in  the  meantime  the  touch  of  her 
hand  or  her  finger  to  the  chief's  lodge,  or  his  gun,  or  other 
article  of  his  household,  consigns  it  to  destruction  at  once ; 
and  in  case  of  non-conformity  to  this  indispensable  form,  a 
woman's  life  may,  in  some  tribes,  be  answerable  for  mis- 
fortunes that  happen  to  individuals  or  the  tribe,  in  the  in- 
terim. 

After  this  season  of  separation,  purification  in  running 
water,  and  annointing,  precisely  in  accordance  with  the 
Jewish  command,  is  requisite  before  she  can  enter  the  family 
lodge.  Such  is  one  of  the  extraordinary  observances 
amongst  these  people  in  their  wild  state;  but  along  the 
Frontier,  where  white  people  have  laughed  at  them  for  their 
forms,  they  have  departed  from  this,  as  from  nearly  every- 
thing else  that  is  native  and  original  about  them. 

In  their  feasts,  fastings  and  sacrificing,  they  are  exceedingly 
like  those  ancient  people.  Many  of  them  have  a  feast 
closely  resembling  the  annual  feast  of  the  Jewish  passover ; 
and  amongst  others,  an  occasion  much  like  the  Israelitish 
feast  of  the  tabernacles,  which  lasted  eight  days,  (when 


♦See 
the  willo 
and  also 
like  the '. 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


746 


history  tells  us  tbey  carried  bundles  of  willow  hougJ^$^  and 
fasted  several  days  and  nights)  making  sacrifices  of  the  first 
fruits  and  best  of  everything,  closely  resembling  the  sin- 
ofifering  and  peace-ofifering  of  the  Hebrews.^ 

These,  and  many  others  of  their  customs  would  seem  to 
be  decidedly  Jewish ;  yet  it  is  for  the  world  to  decide  how 
many  of  them,  or  whether  all  of  them,  might  be  natural  to 
all  people,  and,  therefore,  as  well  practiced  by  these  people 
in  a  state  of  nature,  as  to  have  been  borrowed  from  a  foreign 
nation. 

Amongst  the  list  of  their  customs  however,  we  meet  a 
number  which  had  their  origin  it  would  seem,  in  the  Jewish 
Ceremonial  code,  and  which  are  so  very  peculiar  in  their 
forms,  that  it  would  seem  quite  improbable,  and  almost  im- 
possible, that  two  different  people  should  ever  have  hit 
upon  them  alike,  without  some  knowledge  of  each  other. 
These  I  consider,  go  farther  than  anything  else  as  evidence, 
and  carry,  in  my  mind,  conclusive  proof  that  these  people 
are  tinctured  with  Jewish  blood ;  even  though  the  Jewish 
sabbath  has  been  lost,  and  circumcision  probably  rejected ; 
and  dog*s  flesh,  which  was  an  abomination  to  the  Jews, 
continued  to  be  eaten  at  their  feasts  by  all  the  tribes  of 
Indians ;  not  because  the  Jews  have  been  prevailed  upon 
to  use  it,  but,  because  they  have  survived  only,  as  their 
blood  was  mixed  with  that  of  the  Indians,  and  the  Indians 
have  imposed  on  that  mixed  blood  the  same  rules  and 
regulations  that  governed  the  members  of  the  tribes  in 
general. 

Many  writers  are  of  opinion,  that  the  natives  of  America 
are  all  from  one  stock,  and  their  languages  from  one  root — 
that  that  stock  is  exotic,  and  that  that  language  was  intro- 
duced with  it.  And  the  reason  assigned  for  this  theory  is, 
that  amongst  the  various  tribes,  there  is  a  reigning  similarity 

*  See  the  foar  days'  religions  ceremonies  of  the  Mandans,  and  use  of 
the  willow  boDghs,  and  sacrifices  of  fingers,  &c.  in  Vol.  I.  pp.  251,  270 ; 
and  also  the  custom  of  war-chiefs  wearing  horns  on  their  head-dresses, 
like  the  Israelitish  chiefs  of  great  renown,  Yol.  I.  p.  172, 173. 


746 


LETTKRa  AXD  VOTES  ON  TBE 


in  looks — and  in  their  languages  a  striking  resemblance  to 
each  other.  *  •      • 

Now,  if  all  the  world  wete  to  argue  in  this  way,  I  should 
reason  just  in  the  other;  and  pronounce  this,  though 
evidence  to  a  certain  degree,  to  be  very  far  from  conclusive, 
inasmuch  as  it  id  far  easier  and  more  natural  for  distinct 
tribes,  or  languages,  grouped  and  used  together  to  (usimilate 
than  to  dianmihde ;  as  the  pebbles  on  a  seashore,  that  are 
washed  about  and  jostled  together,  lose  their  angles,  and 
incline  at  last  to  one  rounded  and  uniform  shape.  So  that 
if  there  had  been,  ah  origtnet  a  variety  of  different  stocks  in 
America,  with  different  complexions,  with  different  char* 
acters  and  customs,  and  of  different  statures,  and  speaking 
entirely  different  tongues;  where  they  have  been  for  a 
series  of  centuries  living  neighbors  to  each  other,  moving 
about  and  intermarrying;  I  think  we  might  reasonably 
look  for  quite  as  great  a  similarity  in  their  personal 
appearance  and  languages,  as  we  now  find ;  wheii,  on  the 
other  hand,  if  we  are  to  suppose  that  they  were  all  from 
one  foreign  stock,  with  but  one  language,  it  is  a  difficult 
thing  to  conceive  how  or  in  what  space  of  time,  or  for 
what  purpose,  they  could  have  formed  so  many  tongues, 
and  so  widely  different,  as  those  that  are  now  spoken  on 
the  Continent. 

It  is  evident  I  think,  that  if  an  island  or  continent  had 
been  peopled  with  black,  white  and  red ;  a  succession  of 
revolving  centuries  of  intercourse  amongst  these  different 
colors  would  have  had  a  tendency  to  bring  them  to  one 
standard  complexion,  when  no  computable  space  of  time, 
nor  any  conceivable  circumstances  could  restore  them 
again ;  re-producing  all,  or  either  of  the  distinct  colors, 
from  the  compound.  •'•  " 

That  cxistoms  should  be  found  similar,  or  many  of  them 
exactly  the  same,  on  the  most  opposite  parts  of  the  Conti 
nent,  is  still  less  surprising;  for  these  will  travel  more 
rapidly,  being  more  easily  taught  at  treaties  and  festivals 
between   hostile    bands,  or  disseminated    by  individuals 


80RTH  AlIKBICAK  IXDIAN8. 


747 


travelling  through  neighboring  tribes,  whilst  languages 
and  blood  require  more  time  for  their  admixture. 

That  the  languages  of  the  North  American  Indians, 
should  be  found  to  be  so  numerous  at  this  day,  and  so 
very  many  of  them  radioally  different,  is  a  subject  of  great 
surprise,  and  unaccountable,  whether  these  people  are 
derived  from  one  individual  stock,  or  from  one  hundred, 
or  one  thousand.  i    ••  ,  •  *.  >  <  in  ii. 

Though  languages  like  color  and  like  otlstomi,  are 
calculated  to  assimilate,  under  the  circumstances  above 
named ;  yet  it  is  evident  that,  (if  derived  from  a  variety  of 
sources),  they  have  been  unaccountably  kept  more  distinct 
than  the  others;  and  if  firom  one  root,  have  still  more 
unaccountably  dissimilated  and  divided  into  at  least  one 
hundred  and  fifty,  two  thirds  of  which,  I  venture  to  say, 
are  entirely  and  radically  distinct;  whilst  amongst  the 
people  who  speak  them,  there  is  a  reigning  similarity  in 
looks,  in  features  and  in  customs,  which  would  go  very  far 
to  pronounce  them  one  family,  by  nature  or  by  con- 
vention. 

I  do  not  believe,  with  some  very  learned  and  distin- 
guished writers,  that  the  languages  of  the  North  American 
Indians  can  be  traced  to  one  root  or  to  three  or  four,  or 
any  number  of  distinct  idioms ;  nor  do  I  believe  all,  or  any 
one  of  them,  will  ever  be  fairly  traced  to  a  foreign  origin. 

If  the  looks  and  customs  of  the  Jews,  are  decidedly 
found  and  identified  with  these  people — and  also  those  of 
the  Japanese,  and  Calmuo  Tartars,  I  think  we  have  but 
little,  if  any  need  of  looking  for  the  Hebrew  language,  or 
either  of  the  others,  for  the  reasons  that  I  have  already 
given ;  for  the  feeble  colonies  of  these,  or  any  other  foreign 
people  that  might  havi  fallen  by  accident  upon  the  shores 
of  this  great  Continent,  or  who  might  have  approached  it 
by  Behring's  Straits,  have  been  too  feeble  to  give  a  lan- 
guage to  fifteen  or  twenty  millions  of  people,  or  in  fact  to 
any  portion  of  them ;  being  in  all  probability,  in  great  part 
out  to  pieces  and  destroyed  by  a  natural  foe;  leaving 


|i 


1 


748 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


enough  perhaps,  who  had  intermarried,  to  inoculate  their 
blood  and  their  customs ;  which  have  run,  like  a  drop  in  a 
bucket,  and  slightly  tinctured  the  character  of  tribes  who 
have  sternly  resisted  their  languages,  which  would  nat- 
urally, under  such  circumstances,  have  made  but  very 
little  impression. 

Such  I  consider  the  condition  of  the  Jews  in  North 
America;  and  perhaps  the  Scandinavians,  and  the  fol- 
lowers of  Madoc,  who  by  some  means,  and  some  period 
that  I  cannot  name,  have  thrown  themselves  upon  the 
shores  of  this  country,  and  amongst  the  ranks  of  the 
savages;  where,  from  destructive  wars  with  their  new 
neighbors,  they  have  been  overpowered,  and  perhaps,  with 
the  exception  of  those  who  had  intermarried,  they  have 
been  destroyed,  yet  leaving  amongst  the  savages  decided 
marks  of  their  character;  and  many  of  their  peculiar 
customs,  which  had  pleased,  and  been  adopted  by  the 
savages,  while  they  had  sternly  resisted  others :  and  deci- 
dedly shut  out  and  discarded  their  language,  and  of  course 
obliterated  everything  of  their  history. 

That  there  should  oflen  be  found  contiguous  to  each 
other,  several  tribes  speaking  dialects  of  the  same  language 
is  a  matter  of  no  surprise  at  all ;  and  wherever  such  is  the 
case,  there  is  resemblance  enough  also,  in  looks  and  cus- 
toms, to  show  that  they  are  parts  of  the  same  tribes,  which 
have  comparatively  recently  severed  and  wandered  apart, 
as  their  traditions  will  generally  show;  and  such  resem- 
blances are  often  found  and  traced,  nearly  across  the  Con- 
tinent, and  have  been  accounted  for  in  some  of  my  former 
Letters.  Several  t  ary  learned  gentlemen,  whose  opinions 
I  would  treat  with  the  greatest  respect,  have  supposed  that 
all  the  native  languages  of  America  were  traceable  to  three 
or  four  roots ;  a  position  which  I  will  venture  to  say  will 
be  an  exceedingly  difficult  one  for  them  to  maintain,  whilst 
remaining  at  home  and  consulting  books,  in  the  way  that 
too  many  theories  are  supported ,  and  one  infinitely  more 
difficult  to  prove  if  they  travel  amongst  the  different  tribes, 


i_^ 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


749 


and  collect  tbeir  own  information  as  they  travel  *  I  am 
quite  certain  that  I  have  found  in  a  number  of  instances 
tribes  who  have  long  lived  neighbors  to  each  other,  and 
who,  from  continued  intercourse,  had  learned  mutually, 
many  words  of  each  other's  language,  and  adopted  them  for 
common  use  or  mottoes,  as  often,  or  oftener  than  we  intro- 
duce the  French  or  Latin  phrases  in  our  conversation; 
from  which  the  casual  visitor  to  one  of  these  tribes,  might 
naturally  suppose  there  was  a  similarity  in  their  languages ; 
when  a  closer  examiner  would  find  that  the  idioms  and 
structure  of  the  several  languages  were  entirely  distinct. 

I  believe  that  in  this  way,  the  world,  who  take  but  a 
superficial  glance  at  them,  are,  and  will  be,  led  into  continual 
error  on  this  interesting  subject ;  one  that  invites,  and  well 
deserves  from  those  learned  gentlemen,  a  fair  investigation 
by  them,  on  the  spot ;  rather  than  so  limited  and  feeble  an 
examination  as  /  have  been  able  to  make  of  it,  or  that  thej, 
can  make,  in  their  parlors,  at  so  great  a  distance  from  them, 
and  through  such  channels  as  they  are  obliged  to  look  to 
for  their  information. 

Amongst  the  tribes  that  I  have  visited,  I  consider  that 
thirty,  out  of  the  forty-eight,  are  distinct  and  radically 

*  For  the  satisfaction  of  the  reader,  I  bare  introdnced  in  the  Appen- 
dix to  this  Volume,  Letter  B,  a  brief  vocabulary  of  the  languages  of 
several  adjoining  tribes  in  the  North  West,  from  which,  by  turning  to  it 
they  can  easily  draw  their  own  inferences.  These  words  have  all  been 
written  down  by  myself,  from  the  Indian's  months,  as  they  have  been 
correctly  translated  to  me ;  and  I  think  it  will  at  once  be  decided,  that 
there  is  very  little  affinity  or  resemblance,  if  any,  between  them.  I  have 
therein  given  a  sample  of  the  Blackfoot  language,  yet,  of  that  immense 
tribe  who  all  class  under  the  name  of  Blackfoot,  there  are  the  Cotonn<^3 
and  the  Grosventres  dea  Prairies — whose  languages  are  entirely  distinct 
from  this— and  also  from  each  other — and  in  the  same  region,  and  neigh- 
bors to  them,  are  also  the  Chayennes— the  Knistencauz,  the  Crows,  the 
Shoshonees,  and  Pawnees ;  all  of  whose  languages  are  as  distinct,  and 
as  widely  different,  as  those  that  I  have  given.  These  facts,  I  think, 
without  my  going  further,  will  fully  show  the  entire  dissimilarity  be- 
tween these  languages,  and  support  me  to  a  certain  extent,  at  all  events, 
in  the  opinion  I  have  advanced  above. 


I '  "■' 


I  ' 


750 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


different  in  their  languages,  and  eighteen  are  dialects  of 
some  three  or  four.  It  is  a  very  simple  thing  for  the  off- 
hand theorists  of  the  scientific  world,  who  do  not  go  near 
these  people,  to  arrange  and  classify  them ;  and  a  very  clever 
thing  to  simplify  the  subject,  and  bring  it,  like  everything 
else,  under  three  or  four  heads,  and  to  solve,  and  resolve  it, 
by  as  many  simple  rules. 

I  do  not  pretend  to  be  able  to  give  to  this  subject,  or  to 
that  of  the  probable  origin  of  these  people,  the  close  inves- 
tigation that  these  interesting  subjects  require  and  deserve ; 
yet  I  have  travelled  and  observed  enough  amongst  them, 
and  collected  enough,  to  enable  me  to  form  decided 
opinions  of  my  own ;  and  in  my  conviction,  have  acquired 
confidence  enough  to  tell  them,  and  at  the  same  time  to 
recommend  to  the  Government  or  institutions  of  my  own 
country,  to  employ  men  of  science,  such  as  I  have  mentioned, 
and  protect  them  in  their  visits  to  these  tribes,  where  "  the 
truth,  and  the  whole  truth,"  may  be  got ;  and  the  languages 
of  all  the  tribes  that  are  yet  in  existence,  (many  of  which 
are  just  now  gasping  them  out  in  their  last  breath),  may 
be  snatched  and  preserved  from  oblivion ;  as  well  as  their 
looks  and  their  customs,  to  the  preservation  of  which  my 
labors  have  been  principally  devoted. 

I  undertake  to  say  to  such  gentlemen,  who  are  enthusiastic 
and  qualified,  that  here  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  subjects 
that  they  could  spend  the  energies  of  their  valuable  lives 
upon,  and  one  the  most  sure  to  secure  for  them  that 
immortality  for  which  it  is  natural  and  fair  for  all  men 
to  look. 

From  what  has  been  said  in  the  foregoing  Letters,  it  will 
have  been  seen  that  there  are  three  divisions  under  which 
the  North  American  Indians  may  be  justly  considered  ; 
those  who  are  dead — those  who  are  dying,  and  those  who 
are  yet  living  and  flourishing  in  their  primitive  condition. 
Of  the  dead,  T  have  little  to  say  at  present,  and  I  can  render 
them  no  service— of  the  living,  there  is  much  to  be  said, 
and  I  shall  regret  that  the  prescribed  limits  of  these  epistles, 


NORTH  AMBRICAN  INDIANS. 


751 


will  forbid  me  saying  all  that  I  desire  to  say  of  them  and 
their  condition. 

The  present  condition  of  these  once  numerous  people 
contrasted  with  what  it  was,  and  what  it  is  soon  to  he  is  a 
subject  of  curious  interest,  as  well  as  some  importance,  to 
the  civilized  world— a  subject  well  entitled  to  the  attention, 
and  very  justly  commanding  the  sympathies  of,  enlightened 
communities.  There  are  abundant  proofs  recorded  in  the 
history  of  this  country,  and  to  which  I  need  not  at  this 
time  more  particularly  refer,  to  show  that  this  very 
numerous  and  respectable  part  of  the  human  family,  which 
occupied  the  different  parts  of  North  America,  at  the  time 
of  its  first  settlement  by  the  Anglo-Americans,  contained 
more  than  fourteen  millions,  who  have  been  reduced  since 
that  time,  and  undoubtedly  in  consequence  of  that  settle- 
ment, to  something  less  than  two  millions  1 

This  is  a  startling  fact,  and  one  which  carries  with  it,  if 
it  be  the  truth,  other  facts  and  their  results,  which  are 
equally  startling,  and  such  as  every  inquiring  mind  should 
look  into.  The  first  deduction  that  the  mind  draws  from 
such  premises,  is  the  rapid  declension  of  these  people, 
which  must  at  that  rate  be  going  on  at  this  day;  and  sooner 
or  later,  lead  to  the  most  melancholy  result  of  their  final 
extinction. 

Of  this  sad  termination  of  their  existence,  there  need  not 
be  a  doubt  in  the  minds  of  any  man  who  will  read  the 
history  of  their  former  destruction;  contemplating  them 
swept  already  from  two-thirds  of  the  Continent ;  and  who 
will  then  travel  as  I  have  done,  over  the  vast  extent  of 
Frontier,  and  witness  the  raovies  by  which  the  poor  fellows 
are  falling,  whilst  contending  for  their  rights  with  acquisi- 
tive white  men.  Such  a  reader,  and  such  a  traveller 
I  venture  to  say,  if  he  has  not  the  heart  of  a  brute,  will 
shed  tears  for  them;  and  be  ready  to  admit  that  their 
character  and  customs,  are  at  this  time,  a  subject  of  interest 
and  importance,  and  rendered  peculiarly  so  from  the  facts 
that  they  are  dying  at  the  hands  of  their  christian  neighbors; 


III' 


752 


LETTERS  AND  l^OTES  ON  THE 


and,  from  all  past  experience,  that  there  will  probably  be 
no  effectual  plan  instituted,  that  will  save  the  remainder  of 
them  from  a  similar  fate.  As  they  stand  at  this  day,  there 
may  be  four  or  five  hundred  thousand  in  their  primitive 
state ;  and  a  million  and  a  half,  that  may  be  said  to  be 
semi-civilized,  contending  with  the  sophistry  of  white 
men,  amongst  whom  they  are  timidly  and  unsuccessfully 
endeavoring  to  hold  up  their  heads,  and  aping  their  modes; 
whilst  they  are  swallowing  their  poisons,  and  yielding 
their  lands  and  their  lives,  to  the  superior  tact  and  cunning 
of  theii  merciless  cajolers. 

In  such  parts  of  their  community,  their  customs  are 
uninteresting ;  being  but  poor  and  ridiculous  imitations  of 
those  that  are  bad  enough,  those  practiced  by  their  first 
teachers— but  in  their  primitive  state,  their  modes  of  life  and 
character,  before  they  are  changed,  are  subjects  of  curious 
interest,  and  all  that  I  have  aimed  to  preserve.  Their 
personal  appearence,  their  dress,  and  many  of  their  modes 
of  )'fe,  I  have  already  described. 

For  their  Government,  which  is  purely  such  as  has  been 
dictated  to  them  by  Nature  and  necessity  alone,  they  are 
indebted  to  no  foreign,  native  or  civilized  nation.  For 
their  religion,  which  is  simply  Theism,  they  are  indebted 
to  the  Great  Spirit,  and  not  to  the  christian  world.  For 
their  modes  of  war,  they  owe  nothing  to  enlightened  nations 
— using  only  those  weapons,  and  those  modes  which  are 
prompted  by  nature,  and  within  the  means  of  their  rude 
manufactures. 

If,  therefore,  wo  do  not  find  in  their  systems  of  polity  and 
jurisprudence,  the  eHicacy  and  justice  that  are  dispensed 
in  civilized  institutions — if  we  do  not  find  in  their  religion 
the  light  and  the  grace  that  flow  from  Christian  faith — if 
in  wars  they  are  less  honorable,  and  wage  them  upon  a 
system  of  " murderous  stratagem"  it  is  the  duty  of  the  en- 
lightened world,  who  administer  justice  in  a  better  way — 
who  worship  in  a  more  acceptable  form — and  who  war  on 
a  more  honorable  scale,  to  make  great  allowance  for  their 


I 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


758 


ignorance,  and  yield  to  their  credit,  the  fact,  that  if  their 
systems  are  less  wise,  they  are  often  more  free  from  injustioo 
— from  hypocrisy  and  from  carnage. 

Their  Governments,  if  they  have  any  (for  I  am  almost 
disposed  to  question  the  propriety  of  applying  the  term), 
are  generally  alike ;  each  tribe  having  at  its  head,  a  chief 
(and  most  generally  a  war  and  civil  chief),  whom  it  would 
seem,  alternately  hold  the  ascendency,  as  the  circumstances 
of  peace  or  war  may  demand  their  respective  services. 
These  chiefs,  whose  titles  are  generally  hereditary,  hold 
their  offices  only  as  long  as  their  ages  will  enable  them  to 
perform  the  duties  of  them  by  taking  the  lead  in  war- 
parties,  &c.,  after  which  they  devolve  upon  the  next  incum- 
bent, who  is  the  eldest  son  of  the  chief,  provided  he  is 
decided  by  the  other  chiefs  to  be  as  worthy  of  it  as  any 
other  young  man  in  the  tribe— in  default  of  which,  a  chief 
is  elected  from  amongst  the  sub-chiefs ;  so  that  the  office  is 
hereditary  on  condition,  and  elective  in  emergency. 

The  chief  has  no  control  over  the  life  or  limbs,  or 
liberty  of  his  subjects,  nor  other  power  whatever,  excepting 
that  of  influence  which  he  gains  by  his  virtues,  and  his  ex- 
ploits in  war,  and  which  induces  his  warriors  and  braves 
to  follow  him,  as  he  leads  them  to  battle — or  to  listen  to 
him  when  he  speaks  and  advises  in  council.  In  fact,  he  is 
no  more  than  a  leader,  whom  every  young  warrior  may 
follow,  or  turn  about  and  go  back  from,  as  he  pleases,  if  he 
is  willing  to  meet  the  disgrace  that  awaits  him,  who  deserts 
his  chief  in  the  hour  of  danger. 

It  may  be  a  difficult  question  to  decide,  whether  their 
Government  savours  most  of  a  democracy  or  an  aristocracy ; 
it  is  in  some  respects  purely  democratic — and  in  others 
aristocratic.  The  influence  of  names  and  families  is  strictly 
kept  up,  and  their  qualities  and  relative  distinctions 
preserved  in  heraldrio  family  Arms ;  yet  entirely  severed, 
and  free  from  influences  of  wealth,  which  is  seldom  amassed 
by  any  persons  in  Indian  communities ;  and  most  sure  to 
nlip  from  the  hands  of  chiefs,  or  others  high  in  office,  who 

48 


'i'  i 

i 

1 

;i     , 

1 

i             i 

il'i 

1               1 

1 

1 
li 

754 


LETTEBS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


are  looked  upon  to  be  liboral  and  oharitable ;  and  often- 
times, for  the  sake  of  popularity,  render  themselves  the 
poorest,  and  most  meanly  dressed  and  equipped  of  any  in 
the  tribe. 

These  people  have  no  written  laws,  nor  others,  save  the 
penalties  afi&xed  to  certain  crimes,  by  long-standing  custom, 
or  by  the  decisions  of  the  chiefs  in  council,  who  form  a  sort 
of  Court  and  Congress  too,  for  the  investigation  of  crimes, 
and  transaction  of  the  public  business.  For  the  sessions  of 
these  dignitaries,  each  tribe  has,  in  the  middle  of  their  vil- 
lage, a  Government  or  council-house,  where  the  chiefs  often 
try  and  convict,  for  capital  offences — leaving  the  punish- 
ment to  be  inflicted  by  the  nearest  kin,  to  whom  all  eyes 
of  the  nation  are  turned,  and  who  has  no  means  of  evading 
it  without  suffering  disgrace  in  his  tribe.  For  this  purpose, 
the  custom,  which  is  the  common  law  of  the  land,  allows 
him  to  use  any  means  whatever,  that  he  may  deem  necessary 
to  bring  the  thing  effectually  about ;  and  he  is  allowed  to 
waylay  and  shoot  down  the  criminal — so  that  punishment 
is  certain  and  cruel,  and  as  effective  from  the  hands  of  a 
feeble,  as  from  those  of  a  stout  man,  and  entirely  beyond 
the  hope  that  often  arises  from  the  "  glorious  uncertainty 
of  the  law." 

As  I  have  in  a  former  place  said,  cruelty  is  one  of  the 
leading  traits  of  the  Indian's  character;  and  a  little 
familiarity  with  their  modes  of  life  and  government  will 
soon  convince  the  reader,  that  certainty  and  cruelty  in 
punishments  are  requisite  (where  individuals  undertake  to 
inflict  the  penalties  of  the  laws),  in  order  to  secure  the  lives 
and  property  of  individuals  in  society. 

In  the  treatment  of  their  prisoners  also,  in  many  tribes, 
they  are  in  the  habit  of  inflicting  the  most  appalling 
tortures,  for  which  the  enlightened  world  are  apt  to  condemn 
them  as  cruel  and  unfeeling  in  the  extreme;  without 
stopping  to  learn  that  in  every  one  of  these  instances,  these 
cruelties  are  practiced  by  way  of  retaliation,  by  individuals 
or  families  of  the  tribe,  whose  relatives  have  been  previously 


HORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


755 


dealt  with  in  a  similar  way  by  their  enemies,  and  whose 
manes  they  deem  it  their  duty  to  appease  by  this  horrid 
and  cruel  mode  of  retaliation. 

And  in  justice  to  the  savage,  the  reader  should  yet  know 
that  amongst  these  tribes  that  torture  their  prisoners,  these 
cruelties  are  practiced  but  upon  the  few  whose  lives  are 
required  to  atone  for  those  who  have  been  similarly  dealt 
with  by  their  enemies,  and  that  the  rernainder  are  adopted 
into  the  tribe,  by  marrying  the  widows  whose  husbands  have 
fallen  in  battle,  in  which  capacity  they  are  received  and 
respected  like  others  of  the  tribe,  and  enjoy  equal  rights  and 
immunities.  And  before  we  condemn  them  too  far,  we 
should  yet  pause  and  inquire  whether  in  the  enlightened 
world  we  are  not  guilty  of  equal  cruelties — whether  in  the 
ravages  and  carnage  of  war,  «nd  treatment  of  prisoners, 
we  practice  any  virtue  superior  to  this :  and  whether  the 
annals  of  history  which  are  familiar  to  all,  do  not  furnish 
abundant  proof  of  equal  cruelty  to  prisoners  of  war,  as 
well  as  in  many  instances,  to  the  members  of  our  own  res- 
pective communities.  It  is  a  remarkable  fact  and  one  well 
recorded  in  history,  as  it  deserves  to  be,  to  the  honor  of  the 
savage,  that  no  instance  has  been  known  of  violence  to 
their  captive  females,  a  virtue  yet  to  be  learned  in  civilized 
warfare. 

If  their  punishments  are  certain  and  cruel,  they  have  the 
merit  of  being  few  and  those  confined  chiefly  to  their  ene- 
mies. It  is  natural  to  be  cruel  to  enemies ;  and  in  this,  I 
do  not  see  that  the  improvements  of  the  enlightened  and 
Christian  world  have  yet  elevated  them  so  very  much  above 
the  savage.  To  their  friends,  there  are  no  people  on  earth 
that  are  more  kind ;  and  cruelties  and  punishments  (except 
for  capital  offences)  are  amongst  themselves,  entirely  dis? 
pensed  with.  No  man  in  their  communities  is  subject  to 
any  restraints  upon  his  liberty,  or  to  any  corporal  or  degra- 
ding punishmeut ;  each  one  valuing  his  limbs,  and  his 
liberty  to  use  them  as  his  inviolable  right,  which  no  power 
in  the  tribe  can  deprive  him  of;  whilst  each  one  views  the 


fk 


Ik-, 


H 


766 


LETTKBS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


chief  as  amenable  to  him  as  the  most  humble  individual  in 
the  tribe. 

On  an  occasion  when  I  had  interrogated  a  Sioux  chief,  on 
the  upper  Missouri,  about  their  Government — their  punish- 
ments and  tortures  of  prisoners,  for  which  I  had  freely 
condemned  them  for  the  cruelty  of  the  practice,  he  took 
occasion,  when  I  had  got  through,  to  ask  me  some  questions 
relative  to  modes  in  the  civilized  world,  which,  with  his 
comments  upon  them,  were  nearly  as  follows:  and  struck 
me,  as  I  think  they  must  every  one,  with  great  force. 

♦'  Among  white  people,  nobody  ever  take  your  wife — take 
your  children — take  your  mother,  cut  oJBF  nose — cut  eyes 
out — ^bum  to  death  ?"  No !  "  Then  you  no  cut  off  nose — 
you  no  cut  out  eyes — you  no  burn  to  death — very  good." 

He  also  told  me  he  had  often  heard  that  white  people 
hung  their  criminals  by  the  neck,  and  choked  them  to  death 
like  dogs,  and  those  their  own  people ;  to  which  I  answered, 
"  yes."  He  then  told  me  he  had  learned  that  they  shut 
each  other  up  in  prisons,  where  they  keep  them  a  great 
part  of  their  lives  beoauae  they  canU  pay  money  I  I  replied 
in  the  affirmative  to  this,  which  occasioned  great  surprise 
and  excessive  laughter,  even  amongst  the  women.  He  told 
me  that  he  had  been  to  our  Fort,  at  Council  Blu£&,  where 
we  had  a  great  many  warriors  and  braves,  and  he  saw  three 
of  them  taken  out  on  the  prairies  and  tied  to  a  post  and 
whipped  almost  to  death,  and  he  had  been  told  that  they 
submit  to  all  this  in  order  to  get  a  little  money,  "  yes." 
He  said  he  had  been  told  that  when  all  the  white  people 
were  born,  their  white  medicine-man  had  to  stand  by  and 
look  on — that  in  the  Indian  country  the  women  would  not 
allow  that — they  would  be  ashamed — that  he  had  been 
along  the  Frontier,  and  a  good  deal  amongst  the  white 
people,  and  he  had  seen  them  whip  their  little  children — a 
thing  that  is  very  cruel — he  had  heard  also,  from  several 
white  medicine-men,  that  the  Great  Spirit  of  the  white  people 
was  the  child  of  a  white  woman,  and  that  he  was  at  last 
put  to  death  by  the  white  people !    This  seemed  to  be  a 


spid 

are 

red 


NORTH  AUEBICAK  INDIANS. 


767 


thing  that  he  had  not  been  able  to  comprehend,  and  he 
concluded  by  saying,  "the  Indians' Great  Spirit  got  no 
mother — the  Indians  no  kill  him,  he  never  die."  He  put 
me  a  chapter  of  other  questions  as  to  the  trespasses  of 
the  white  people  on  their  lands— their  continual  corruption 
of  the  morals  of  their  women — and  digging  open  the 
Indians'  graves  to  get  their  bones,  &o.  To  all  of  which  I 
was  compelled  to  reply  in  the  afl&rmative,  and  quite  glad  to 
close  my  note-book,  and  quietly  to  escape  from  the  throng 
that  had  collected  around  me,  and  saying  (though  to  myself 
and  silently),  that  these  and  an  hundred  other  vices  belong 
to  the  civilized  world,  and  are  practiced  upon  (but  certainly, 
in  no  instance,  reciprocated  by)  the  "  cruel  and  relentless 
savage." 

Of  their  modes  of  war,  of  which  a  great  deal  has  been 
written  by  other  travellers — I  could  say  much  but  in  the  pres- 
ent place,  must  be  brief.  All  wars,  offensive  or  defensive,  are 
decided  on  by  the  chiefs  and  doctors  in  council,  where 
a  majority  decides  all  questions.  After  their  resolve,  the 
chief  conducts  and  leads — his  pipe  with  the  reddened  stem 
is  sent  through  the  tribe  by  his  runnersy  and  every  man 
who  consents  to  go  to  war,  draws  the  smoke  once  through 
its  stem ;  he  is  then  a  volunteer,  like  all  of  their  soldiers  in 
war,  and  bound  by  no  compulsive  power,  except  that  of 
pride,  and  dread  of  the  disgrace  of  turning  back.  After 
the  soldiers  are  enlisted,  the  war-dance  is  performed  in 
presence  of  the  whole  tribe ;  when  each  warrior  in  warrior's 
dress,  with  weapons  in  hand,  dances  up  separately,  and 
striking  the  reddened  post,  thereby  takes  the  solemn  oath 
not  to  desert  his  party. 

The  chief  leads  in  full  dress  to  make  himself  as  con- 
spicuous a  mark  as  possible  for  his  enemy ;  whilst  his  men 
are  chiefly  denuded,  and  their  limbs  and  faces  covered  with 
red  earth  or  vermilion,  and  oftentimes  with  charcoal  and 
grease,  so  as  completely  to  disguise  them,  even  from  the 
knowledg<3  of  many  of  their  intimate  friends. 

At  the  close  of  hostilities,  the  two  parties  are  often 


iWf 


'i ' 


758 


LETTERS   AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


brouglit  together  by  a  flag  of  truce,  where  they  sit  in  Treaty, 
and  solemnize  by  smoking  through  the  calumet  or  pipe  of 
peace,  as  I  have  before  described ;  and  ailcr  that,  their 
warrior .  and  braves  step  forward,  with  the  pipe  of  peace  in 
the  left  hand,  and  the  war  club  in  the  •  right,  and  dance 
around  in  a  circle — going  through  many  curious  and 
exceedingly  picturesque  evolutions  in  the  "jnpe  of  peace 
danceJ^ 

To  each  other  I  have  found  these  people  kind  and  hon- 
orable, and  endowed  with  every  feeling  of  parental,  of  filial, 
and  conjugal  affection,  that  is  met  in  more  enlightened 
communities.  I  have  found  them  moral  and  religious ;  and 
1  am  bound  to  give  them  great  credit  for  their  zeal,  which 
is  often  exhibited  in  their  modes  of  worship,  however  in- 
suflicient  they  may  seem  to  us,  or  may  be  in  the  estimation 
of  the  Great  Spirit. 

I  have  heard  it  said  by  some  very  good  men,  and  some 
who  have  even  been  preaching  the  Christian  religion 
amongst  them,  that  they  have  no  religion — that  all  their 
zeal  in  their  worship  of  the  Great  Spirit  was  but  the 
foolish  excess  of  ignorant  superstition — that  their  humble 
devotions  and  supplications  to  the  Sun  and  the  Moon, 
where  many  of  them  suppose  that  the  Great  Spirit  resides, 
were  but  the  absurd  rantings  of  idolatry.  To  such  opinions 
as  these,  I  never  yet  gave  answer,  nor  drew  other. instant 
inferences  from  them,  than,  that  from  the  bottom  of  my 
heart,  I  pitied  the  persons  who  gave  them. 

I  fearlessly  assert  to  the  world,  (and  I  defy  contradiction,) 
that  the  North  American  Indian  is  everywhere,  in  his  native 
state,  a  highly  moral  and  religious  being,  endowed  by  his 
Maker,  with  an  intuitive  knowledge  of  some  great  Author 
of  his  being,  and  the  Universe ;  in  dread  of  whose  dis- 
pleasure he  constantly  lives,  with  the  apprehension  before 
him,  of  a  future  state,  where  he  expects  to  be  rewarded  or 
punished  according  to  the  merits  he  has  gained  or  forfeited 
in  this  world, 

I  have  made  this  a  subject  of  unceasing  enquiry  during 


m 

imj 

Sp| 

sti 

huj 
thrl 
poc 
froi 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


769 


oil  my  travels,  and  from  every  individual  Indian  with 
whom  I  have  conversed  on  the  subject,  from  the  highest  to 
the  lowest  and  most  pitiably  ignorant,  I  have  received 
evidence  enough,  as  well  as  from  their  numerous  and 
humble  modes  of  worship,  to  convince  the  mind,  and  elicit 
the  confessions  of,  any  man  whose  gods  are  not  beaver  and 
muskrat's  skins — or  whose  ambition  is  not  to  be  deemed 
an  p.postle,  or  himself,  their  only  redeemer. 

Morality  and  virtue,  I  venture  to  say,  the  civilized  world 
need  not  undertake  to  teach  them ;  and  to  support  me  in 
this,  I  refer  the  reader  to  the  interesting  narrative  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Parker,  amongst  the  tribes  through  and  beyond 
the  Rocky  I'ountains ;  to  the  narratives  of  Captain  Bonne- 
ville, through  the  same  regions ;  and  also  to  the  reports  of 
the  Reverend  Messrs.  Spalding  and  Lee,  who  have  crossed 
the  Mountains,  and  planted  their  little  colony  amongst 
them.  And  I  am  also  allowed  to  refer  to  the  account  given 
by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Beaver,  of  the  tribes  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Columbia  and  the  Pacific  Coast. 

Of  their  extrordinary  modes  and  sincerity  of  worship,  I 
speak  with  equal  confidence ;  and  although  I  am  compelled 
to  pity  them  for  their  ignorance,  I  am  bound  to  say  that 
I  never  saw  any  other  people  of  any  colour,  who  spend  so 
mtich  of  their  Uvea  in  humbling  themselves  before,  and  wor- 
shipping the  Great  Spirit,  as  some  of  these  tribes  do,  nor 
any  whom  I  would  not  as  soon  suspect  of  insincerity  and 
hypocrisy. 

Self-denial,  which  is  comparatively  a  word  of  no  meaning 
in  the  enlightened  world ;  and  self-torture  and  almost  self- 
immolation,  are  continual  modes  of  appealing  to  the  Great 
Spirit  for  his  countenance  and  forgiveness ;  and  these,  not  in 
studied  figures  of  rhetoric,  resounding  in  halls  and  syna- 
gogues, to  fill  and  astonish  the  ears  of  the  multitude ;  but 
humbly  cried  forth  from  starved  stomachs  and  parched 
throats,  from  some  lone  and  favorite  haunts,  where  the 
poor  penitents  crawl  and  lay  with  their  faces  in  the  dirt 
from  day  to  day;  and  day  to  day,  sobbing  forth  their 


IP 


760 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


humble  confessions  of  their  sins,  and  their  earnest  implo* 
rations  for  divine  forgiveness  and  meroy. 

I  have  seen  man  thus  prostrating  himself  before  his 
Maker,  and  worshipping  as  Nature  taught  him ;  and  I 
have  seen  mercenary  white  men  with  his  bottle  and  its 
associate  vices,  unteaching  them ;  and  after  that,  good  and 
benevolent  and  pious  men,  devotedly  wearing  out  their 
valued  lives,  all  but  in  vain,  endeavoring  to  break  down 
confirmed  habits  of  cultivated  vices  and  dissipation,  and 
to  engrail  upon  them  the  blessings  of  Christianity  and 
civilization.  I  have  visited  most  of  the  stations,  and  am 
acquainted  with  many  of  the  excellent  missionaries,  who, 
with  their  families  falling  by  the  diseases  of  the  country 
about  them,  are  zealously  laboring  to  benefit  these  be- 
nighted people ;  but  I  have,  with  thousands  and  millions 
of  others,  to  deplore  the  ill  success  with  which  their 
painful  and  faithful  labors  have  generally  been  attended. 
This  failure  I  attribute  not  to  the  want  of  capacity  on 
the  part  of  the  savage,  nor  for  lack  of  zeal  and  Christian 
endeavors  of  those  who  have  been  sent,  and  to  whom  the 
eyes  of  the  sympathizing  part  of  the  world  have  been 
anxiously  turned,  in  hopes  of  a  more  encouraging  account. 

The  misfortune  has  been,  in  my  opinion,  that  these  efforts 
have  mostly  been  made  in  the  wrong  place — along  the 
Frontier,  where  (though  they  have  stood  most  in  need  of 
Christian  advice  and  example)  they  have  been  the  least 
ready  to  hear  it  or  to  benefit  from  its  introduction  ;  where 
whisky  has  been  sold  for  twenty,  or  thirty,  or  fifty  years, 
and  every  sort  of  fraud  and  abuse  that  could  be  engendered 
and  visited  upon  them,  and  amongst  their  families,  by  in- 
genious, money-Tnaking  white  man ;  rearing  up  under  a 
burning  sense  of  injustice,  the  most  deadly  and  thwarting 
prejudices,  which,  and  which  alone,  in  my  opinion,  have 
stood  in  the  way  of  the  introduction  of  Christianity — of 
agriculture,  and  everything  which  virtuous  society  has 
attempted  to  teach  them ;  which  they  meet  and  suspect, 
and  reject  as  some  new  trick  or  enterprise  of  white  man 


NORTH  AMBRIOAir  INDIANS. 


761 


which  is  to  redound  to  his  advantage  rather  thau  for  their 
own  benefit. 

The  pioua  misaionary  finds  him  olf  here,  I  would  venture 
to  say,  in  an  indescribable  vicinity  c*"  mixed  viooa  and 
stupid  ignorance,  that  disgust  and  discourage  hira ;  and  just 
at  tho  moment  when  his  now  theory,  which  has  beon  at  first 
received  as  a  mystery  to  them,  is  about  to  be  successfully 
revealed  and  explained,  the  whisky  bottle  is  handed  again 
from  the  bushes ;  and  the  poor  Indian  (whose  perplexed 
mind  is  just  ready  to  catch  the  brilliant  illumination  of 
Christianity),  grasps  it,  and,  like  too  many  people  in  the 
enlightened  world,  quiets  his  excited  feelings  with  its 
soothing  draught,  embracing  most  affectionately  the  friend 
that  brings  him  the  most  sudden  relief;  and  is  contented 
to  fall  back,  and  linger—and  die  in  the  moral  darkness 
that  is  about  him. 

And  notwithstanding  tho  great  waste  of  missionary 
labors,  on  many  portions  of  our  vast  Frontier,  there  have 
been  some  instances  in  which  their  efforts  have  been 
crowned  with  signal  success,  (even  with  the  counteracting 
obstacles  that  have  stood  in  their  way),  of  which  instances 
I  have  made  some  mention  in  former  epistles. 

I  have  always  been,  and  still  am,  an  advocate  for  mis- 
sionary efforts  amongst  these  people,  but  I  never  have  had 
much  faith  in  the  success  of  any  unless  they  could  be  made 
amongst  the  tribes  in  their  primitive  state ;  where  if  the 
strong  arm  of  the  government  could  bo  extended  out  to  pro- 
tect them,  I  believe  that  with  the  example  of  good  and  pioua 
men,  teaching  them  at  the  same  time,  agriculture  and  the 
useful  arts,  much  could  be  done  with  these  interesting  and 
talented  people,  for  the  successful  improvement  of  their 
moral  and  physical  condition. 

I  have  ever  thought,  and  still  think  that  the  Indian's 
mind  is  a  beautiful  blank,  on  whicb  any  thing  might  be 
written,  if  the  right  mode  were  taken  to  do  it. 

Could  the  enlightened  and  virtuous  society  of  the  East, 
have  been  brought  in  contact  with  him  as  his  first  neigh- 


1 


762 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


bors,  and  his  eyes  been  first  opened  to  improvements  and 
habits  worthy  of  hia  imitation;  und  could  religion  have 
been  taught  him  without  the  interference  of  the  counteract- 
ing vices  by  which  he  is  surrounded,  the  best  efforts  of  the 
world  would  not  have  been  thrown  away  upon  him,  nor 
posterity  been  left  to  say,  in  future  ages,  when  he  and  hia 
race  shall  have  been  swept  from  the  face  of  the  earth,  that 
he  was  destined  by  Heaven  to  be  unconverted  and 
uncivilized. 

The  Indian's  calamity  is  surely  far  this  side  of  his  origin 
— his  misfortune  has  been  in  hia  education.  Ever  since 
our  first  acquaintance  with  these  people  on  the  Atlantic 
shores,  have  we  regularly  advanced  upon  them;  and  far 
a-head  of  good  and  moral  society  have  their  first  teachers 
travelled  (and  are  yet  travelling),  with  vices  and  iniquities 
so  horrible  as  to  blind  their  eyes  for  ever  to  the  light  and 
loveliness  of  virtue,  when  she  is  presented  to  them. 

It  is  in  the  bewildering  maze  of  this  moving  atmosphere 
that  he,  in  his  native  simplicity,  finds  himself  lost  amidst 
the  ingenuity  and  sophistry  of  his  new  acquaintance.  He 
stands  amazed  at  the  arts  and  improvements  of  civilized 
life — his  proud  spirit  which  before  was  founded  on  his 
ignorance,  droops,  and  Lc  sinks  down  discouraged,  into 
melancholv  and  despair;  and  at  that  moment  grasps  the 
DOttle  (which  is  ever  ready),  to  soothe  his  anguished  feelings 
to  the  grave.  It  is  in  this  deplorable  condition  that  the 
civilized  world,  in  their  approach,  have  ever  found  him ; 
and  here  in  his  inevitable  misery,  that  the  charity  of  the 
world  has  been  lavished  upon  him,  and  religion  has 
exhausted  its  best  efforts  almost  in  vain. 

Notwithstanding  this  destructive  ordeal,  through  which 
all  the  border  tribes  have  had  to  pass,  and  of  whom  I  have 
spoken  but  in  general  terms,  there  are  striking  and  noble 
exceptions  on  the  Frontiers,  of  individuals,  and  in  some 
instances,  of  the  remaining  remnants  of  tribes,  who  have 
followed  the  advice  and  example  of  their  Christian  teachers ; 
who  have  entirely  discarded  their  habits  of  dissipation,  and 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


763 


successfully  outlived  t^e  dismal  wreck  of  their  tribe- 
having  embraced,  and  re  now  preaching,  the  Christian 
religion;  and  proving  by  the  brightest  example,  that  they 
are  well  worthy  of  the  sincere  and  well-applied  friendship 
of  the  enlightened  world,  rather  than  their  enmity  and 
persecution. 

By  nature  they  are  decent  and  modest,  unassuming  and 
inoffensive— and  all  history  (which  I  could  quote  to  the  end 
of  a  volume),  proves  them  to  have  been  found  friendly  and 
hospitable,  on  the  first  approach  of  white  people  to  their 
villages  on  all  parts  of  the  American  Continent— and 
from  what  I  have  seen,  (which  I  offer  as  proof,  rather  than 
what  I  have  read),  I  am  willing  and  proud  to  add,  for  the 
ages  who  are  only  to  read  of  these  people,  my  testimony  to 
that  which  was  given  by  the  immortal  Columbus,  who 
wrote  back  to  his  Royal  Master  and  Mistress,  from  his  first 
position  on  the  new  Continent,  "  I  swear  to  your  Majesties, 
that  there  is  not  a  better  people  in  the  world  than  these ; 
more  affectionate,  affable,  or  mild.  They  love  their  neigh- 
bors as  themselves  and  they  always  speak  smilingly." 

They  are  ingenious  and  talented,  as  many  of  their  curious 
manufactures  will  prove,  which  are  seen  by  thousands  in 
my  Collection. 

In  the  mechanic  arts  they  have  advanced  but  little, 
probably  because  they  have  had  but  little  use  for  them,  and 
have  had  no  teachers  to  bring  them  out.  In  the  fine  arts^ 
they  are  perhaps  still  more  rude,  and  their  productions  are 
very  few.  Their  materials  and  implements  that  they  work 
with,  are  exceedingly  rare  and  simple ;  and  their  principal 
efforts  at  pictorial  effects,  are  found  on  their  buffalo  robes; 
of  which  I  have  given  some  account  in  former  Letters,  and 
of  which  I  shall  herein  furnish  some  additional  information. 

I  have  been  unable  to  find  anything  like  a  system  of 
hieroglyphic  writing  amongst  them;  yet  their  picture 
writings  on  the  rocks,  and  on  their  robes,  approach  some- 
what towards  it.  Of  the  former,  I  have  seen  a  vast  many 
in  the  course  of  my  travels ;  and  I  have  satisfied  myself 


764 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


that  they  are  generally  the  totems  (symbolic  names)  merely 
of  Indians  who  have  visited  those  places,  and  from  a  similar 
feeling  of  vanity  that  everywhere  belongs  to  man  much 
alike,  have  been  in  the  habit  of  recording  their  names  or 
symbols,  such  as  birds,  beasts,  or  reptiles ;  by  which  each 
family,  and  each  individual,  is  generally  known,  as  white 
men  are  in  the  habit  of  recording  their  names  at  watering 
places,  &c. 

Many  of  these  have  recently  been  ascribed  to  the  North- 
men, who  probably  discovered  this  country  at  an  early 
period,  and  have  been  extinguished  by  the  savage  tribes. 
I  might  have  subscribed  to  such  a  theory,  had  I  not  at  the 
Eed  Pipe  Stone-Quarry,  where  there  are  a  vast  number  of 
these  inscriptions  cut  in  the  solid  rock,  and  at  other  places 
also,  seen  the  Indian  at  work  recording  his  totem  amongst 
those  of  more  ancient  dates,  which  convinced  me  that  they 
had  been  progressively  made,  at  dififerent  ages,  and  without 
any  system  that  could  be  called  hieroglyphical  writing. 

The  paintings  on  their  robes  are  in  many  cases  exceed- 
ingly curious,  and  generally  represent  the  exploits  of  their 
military  lives,  which  they  are  proud  of  recording  in  this 
way  and  exhibiting  on  their  backs  as  they  walk. 

From  these  brief  hints,  which  I  have  too  hastily  thrown 
together,  it  will  be  seen  that  these  people  are  ingenious, 
and  have  much  in  their  mode  as  well  as  in  their  manners, 
to  enlist  the  attention  of  the  merely  curious,  even  if  they 
should  not  be  drawn  nearer  to  them  by  feelings  of  sym- 
pathy and  pity  for  their  existing  and  approaching  misfor- 
tunes. 

But  he  who  can  travel  amongst  them,  or  even  sit  down 
in  his  parlor,  with  his  map  of  North  America  before  him, 
with  Halkett's  Notes  on  the  History  of  the  North  American 
Indians  (and  several  other  very  able  works  that  have  been 
written  on  their  character  and  history),  and  fairly  and  truly 
contemplate  the  system  of  universal  abuse,  that  is  hurrying 
such  a  people  to  utter  destruction,  will  find  enough  to 
enlist  all  his  sympathies,  and  lead  him  to  cultivate  a  more 


r 


■ 

j            misfo 

1 

1            Such 

■ 

his  T 

■ 

:            syste: 

■    !            landij 

■ 

day, 

H 

ing,  I 

■ 

In 

1  H                tribes 

!  H                wouU 

i  H                of  th( 

:  1                those 

i     ^H      ' 

were 

1 

were 

NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


765 


general  and  intimate  acquaintance  with  their  true  char- 
acter. 

He  who  will  sit  and  contemplate  that  vast  Frontier 
where,  by  the  past  policy  of  the  Government,  one  hundred 
and  twenty  thousand  of  these  poor  people,  (who  had  just 
got  initiated  into  the  mysteries  and  modes  of  civilized  life, 
surrounded  by  examples  of  industry  and  agriculture  whic.i 
they  were  beginning  to  adopt),  have  been  removed  several 
hundred  miles  to  the  West,  to  meet  a  second  siege  of  the 
whisky-sellers  and  traders  in  the  wilderness,  to  whose 
enormous  exactions  their  semi-civilized  habits  and  appetites 
have  subjected  them,  will  assuredly  pity  them.     Where 
they  have  to  quit  their  acquired  luxuries,  or  pay  ten  times 
their  accustomed  prices  for  them — and  to  scuffle  for  a  few 
years  upon  the  plains,  with  the  wild  tribes,  and  with  white 
men  also,  for  the  flesh  and  the  skins  of  the  last  of  the  buf- 
faloes ;  where  their  carnage,  but  not  their  appetites,  must 
stop  in  a  few  years,  and  with  the  ghastliness  of  hunger  and 
despair,  they  wDl  find  themselves  gazing  at  each  other 
upon  the  vacant  waste,  which  will  afford  them  nothing  but 
the  empty  air,  and  the  desperate  resolve  to  flee  to  the  woods 
and  fastnesses  of  the  Rocky  Mountains ;  whilst  more  lucky 
white  man  will  return  to  his  comfortable  home,  with  no 
misfortune,  save  that  of  deep  remorse  and  a  guilty  conscience. 
Such  a  reader  will  find  enough  to  claim  his  pity  and  engage 
his  whole  soul's  indignation,  at  the  wholesale  and  retail 
system  of  injustice,  which  has  been,  from  the  very  first 
landing  of  our  forefathers,  (and  is  equally  at  the  present 
day,  being)  visited  upon  these  poor,  and  naturally  unoffend- 
ing, untrespassing  people. 

In  alluding  to  the  cruel  policy  of  removing  the  different 
tribes  to  their  new  country,  West  of  the  Mississippi,  I 
would  not  do  it  without  the  highest  respect  to  the  moti""es 
of  the  Government — and  to  the  feelings  and  opinions  of 
those  worthy  Divines,  whose  advice  and  whose  services 
were  instrumental  in  bringing  it  about ;  and  who  no  doubt 
were  of  opinion  that  they  wore  effecting  a  plan  that  would 


II 


766 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  OX  THE 


redound  to  the  Indian's  benefit.  Such  was  once  my  own 
opinion — but  when  I  go,  as  I  have  done,  through  every 
one  of  those  tribes  removed,  who  had  learned  at  home  to 
use  the  ploughshare,  and  also  contracted  a  passion,  and  a 
taste  for  civilized  manufactures ;  and  after  that,  removed 
twelve  and  fourteen  hundred  miles  West,  to  a  wild  and 
lawless  region,  where  their  wants  are  to  be  supplied  by  the 
traders,  at  eight  or  ten  times  the  prices  they  have  been  in 
the  habit  of  paying ;  where  whisky  can  easily  be  sold  to 
them  in  a  boundless  and  lawless  forest,  without  the  restraints 
that  can  be  successfully  put  upon  the  sellers  of  it  in  their 
civilized  neighborhoods ;  and  whjre  also  they  are  allured 
from  the  use  of  their  ploughs,  by  the  herds  of  buffaloes 
and  other  wild  animals  on  the  plains ;  I  am  competed  to 
state,  as  my  irresistible  conviction,  that  I  believe  the 
system  one  well  calculated  to  benefit  the  interests  of  the 
voracious  land-speculators  and  Indian  Traders ;  the  first  of 
whom  are  ready  to  grasp  at  their  lands,  as  soon  as  they 
are  vacated — and  the  others  at  the  annuities  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty  thousand  extravagant  customers.  I  believe  the 
system  is  calculated  to  aid  these,  and  perhaps  to  facilitate 
the  growth  and  wealth  of  the  civilized  border;  but  I 
believe,  like  everything  else  that  tends  to  the  white  man's 
aggrandizement,  and  ihe  increase  of  his  wealth,  it  will 
have  as  rapid  a  tendency  to  the  poverty  and  destruction  of 
the  poor  red  men ;  who,  unfortunately,  almost  seem  doomed, 
never  in  any  way  to  be  associated  in  interest  with  their 
pale-faced  neighbors. 

The  system  of  trade,  and  the  small-pox,  have  been  the 
great  and  wholesale  destroyers  of  these  poor  people,  from 
the  Atlantic  Coast  to  where  they  are  now  found.  And  no 
one  but  God,  knows  where  the  voracity  of  the  one  is  to 
stop,  short  of  the  acquisition  of  every  thing  that  is  desirable 
to  money-making  man  in  the  Indian's  country ;  or  when 
the  mortal  destruction  of  the  other  is  to  be  arrested,  whilst 
there  is  untried  flesh  for  it  to  act  upon,  either  within  or 
beyond  the  Kocky  Mountains. 


NOBTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


767 


From  the  first  settlements  on  the  Atlantic  Coast  to  where 
it  is  now  carried  on  at  the  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains 
there  has  been  but  one  system  of  trade  and  money-makino- 
by  hundreds  and  thousands  of  white  men,  who  are  despe- 
rately bent  upon  making  their  fortunes  in  this  trade,  with 
the  unsophisticated  children  of  the  forest ;  and  generally 
they  have  succeeded  in  the  achievement  of  their  object. 

The  Governments  of  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain, 
have  always  held  out  every  encouragement  to  the  Fur 
Traders,  whose  traffic  has  uniformly  been  looked  upon  as 
beneficial,  and  a  source  of  wealth  to  nations ;  though  surely, 
they  never  could  have  considered  such  intercourse  as 
advantageous  to  the  savage. 

Besides  the  many  thousands  who  are  daily  and  hourly 
selling  whisky  and  rum,  and  useless  gewgaws,  to  the 
Indians  on  the  United  States,  the  Canada,  the  Texian  and 
Mexican  borders,  there  are  of  hardy  adventurers,  in  the 
Rocky  Mountains  and  beyond,  or  near  them,  and  out  of  all 
limits  of  laws,  one  thousand  armed  men,  in  the  annual 
employ  of  the  United  States  Fur  Companies — an  equal 
number  in  the  employment  of  the  British  Factories,  and 
twice  that  number  in  the  Russian  and  Mexican  possessions; 
all  of  whom  pervade  the  countries  of  the  wildest  tribes 
they  can  reach,  with  guns  and  gunpowder  in  their  hands, 
and  other  instruments  of  death,  unthought  of  by  the  simple 
savage,  calculated  to  terrify  and  coerce  him  to  favorable 
terms  in  his  trade:  and  in  all  instances  they  assume  the 
right,  (and  prove  it,  if  necessary,  by  the  superiority  of 
their  weapons,)  of  hunting  and  trapping  the  streams  and 
lakes  of  their  countries. 

These  traders,  in  addition  to  the  terror,  and  sometimes 
death,  that  they  carry  into  these  remote  realms,  at  the 
muzzles  of  their  guns,  as  well  as  by  whisky,  and  the  small- 
pox, are  continually  arming  tribe  after  tribe  with  fire-arms ; 
who  are  able  thereby,  to  bring  their  unsuspecting  enemies 
into  unequal  combats,  where  they  are  slain  by  thousands, 
and  who  have  no  way  to  heal  the  awful  wound  but  by 


I 


768 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


arming  themselves  in  turn;  and  in  a  similar  manner 
reeking  their  vengeance  upon  tJieir  defenceless  enemies  on 
the  West.  In  this  wholesale  way,  and  by  whisky  and 
disease,  tribe  after  tribe  sink  their  heads  and  lose  their 
better,  proudest  half,  before  the  next  and  succeeding  waves 
of  civilization  flow  on,  to  see  or  learn  anything  definite  of 
them. 

Without  entering  at  this  time,  into  any  detailed  history 
of  this  immense  system,  or  denunciation  of  any  of  the  men 
or  their  motives,  who  are  engaged  in  it,  I  would  barely 
observe,  that,  from  the  very  nature  of  their  traffic,  where 
their  goods  are  to  be  carried  several  thousands  of  miles  on 
the  most  rapid  and  dangerous  streams,  over  mountains  and 
other  almost  discouraging  obstacles ;  and  that  at  the  con- 
tinual hazard  to  their  lives,  from  accidents  and  diseases  of 
the  countries,  the  poor  Indians  are  obliged  to  pay  such 
enormous  prices  for  their  goods,  that  the  balance  of  trade  is 
so  decidedly  against  them,  as  soon  to  lead  them  to  poverty ; 
and,  unfortunately  for  them,  they  mostly  contract  a  taste 
for  whisky  and  rum,  which  are  not  only  ruinous  in  their 
prices,  but  in  their  effects  destructive  to  life — destroying  the 
Indians,  much  more  rapidly  than  an  equal  indulgence  will 
destroy  the  civilized  constitution. 

a  the  Indian  communities,  where  there  is  no  law  of  the 
land  or  custom  denominating  it  a  vice  to  drink  whisky,  and 
to  get  drunk ;  and  where  the  poor  Indian  meets  whisky 
tendered  to  him  by  white  men,  whom  he  considers  wiser 
than  himself,  and  to  whom  he  naturally  looks  for  example ; 
he  thinks  it  no  harm  to  drink  to  excess,  and  will  lie  drunk 
as  long  as  he  can  raise  the  means  to  pay  for  it.  And  after 
his  fir& .  means,  in  his  wild  state,  are  exhausted  he  becomes 
a  beggar  for  whisky,  and  begs  until  he  disgusts,  when 
the  honest  pioneer  becomes  his  neighbour ;  and  then,  and 
not  before  gets  the  name  of  the  "  poor,  degraded,  naked, 
and  drunken  Indian,"  to  whom  the  epithets  are  well  and 
truly  applied. 

On  this  great  system  of  carrying  the  Fur  Trade  into  the 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


769 


Bocky  Mountains  and  other  parts  of  the  wilderness  country, 
where  whisky  is  sold  at  the  rate  of  twenty  and  thirty  dollars 
per  gallon,  and  most  other  articles  of  trade  at  a  similar  rate : 
I  know  of  no  better  comment,  nor  any  more  excusable,  than 
the  quotation  of  a  few  passages  from  a  very  popular  work 
which  is  being  read  with  great  avidity,  from  the  pen  of  a 
gentleman  whose  name  gives  currency  to  any  book,  and 
whose  fine  taste,  pleasure  to  all  who  read.  The  work  I 
refer  to  "  The  Rocky  Mountains,  or  Adventures  in  the  Far 
West :  by  W.  Irving,"  is  a  very  interesting  one ;  and  its 
incidents,  no  doubt  are  given  with  great  candor,  by  the 
excellent  officer.  Captain  Bonneville,  who  spent  five  years 
in  the  region  of  the  Bocky  Mountains,  on  a  furlough; 
endeavoring,  in  connexion  with  others,  to  add  to  his 
fortune,  by  pushing  the  Fur  Trade  to  some  of  the  wildest 
tribes  in  those  remote  regions. 

"  The  worthy  Captain  (says  the  Author)  started  into  the 
"country  with  one  hundred  and  ten  men;  whose  very 
"  appearance  and  equipment  exhibited  a  piebald  mixture — 
"half-civilized  and  half-savage,  &c."  And  he  also  preludes 
his  work  by  saying,  that  it  was  revised  by  himself  from 
Captain  Bonneville's  own  notes,  which  can,  no  doubt,  be 
relied  ou. 

This  medley  group,  it  seems,  traversed  the  country  to  the 
Bocky  Mountains,  where,  amongst  the  Nez  Percfes  and 
Flatheads,  he  says,  **  They  were  friendly  in  their  dis- 
•'  positions,  and  honest  to  the  most  scrupulous  degree  in 
"  their  intercourse  with  the  white  men.  And  of  the  same 
"  people,  the  Captain  continues— Simply  to  call  these  people 
"  religious,  would  convey  but  a  faint  idea  of  the  deep  hue 
"  of  piety  and  devotion  which  pervades  the  whole  of  their 
"  conduct.  Their  honesty  is  immaculate ;  and  their  purity 
"of  purpose,  and  their  observance  of  the  rites  of  their 
"religion,  are  most  uniform  and  remarkable.  They  are, 
"certainly,  more  like  a  nation  of  saints  than  a  horde  of 


"  savages." 


Afterwards,  of  the  "  Root  Diggers^^  in  the  vicinity  of  the 

49 


\!i 


770 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


Great  Salt  Lake,  who  are  a  band  of  the  Saake  tribe,  (and 
of  whom  he  speaks  thus : — "  In  fact,  they  are  a  simple, 
•'timid,  inoffensive  race,  and  scarce  provided  with  any 
"weapons,  except  for  the  chase");  he  says  that,  "one 
"morning,  one  of  his  trappers,  of  a  violent  and  savage 
"  character,  discovering  that  his  traps  had  been  carried  off 
"  in  the  night,  took  a  horrid  oath  that  he  would  kill  the 
"  first  Indian  he  should  meet,  innocent  or  guilty.  As  he 
"  was  returning  with  his  comrades  to  camp,  he  beheld  two 
"  unfortunate  Eoot-Diggers  seated  on  the  river  bank,  fishing 
" — advancing  upon  them,  he  levelled  his  rifle,  shot  one 
"  upon  the  spot,  and  flung  his  bleeding  body  into  the 
"  stream." 

A  short  time  afterwards,  when  his  party  of  trappers 
"were  about  to  cross  Ogden's  river,  a  great  number  of 
"  Shoshokies  or  Root-Diggers  were  posted  on  the  opposite 
"  bank,  when  they  imagined  they  were  there  with  hostile 
"  intent ;  they  advanced  upon  them,  levelled  their  rifles, 
"  and  killed  twenty -five  of  them  on  the  spot.  The  rest  fled 
"  to  a  short  distance,  then  halted  and  turned  about,  howling 
"and  whining  like  wolves,  and  uttering  most  piteous 
"  wailings.  The  trappers  chased  them  in  every  direction ; 
"  the  poor  wretches  made  no  defence,  but  fled  with  terror ; 
'*  neither  does  it  appear  from  the  accounts  of  the  boasted 
"victors,  that  a  weapon  had  been  wielded,  or  a  weapon 
"  launched  by  the  Indians  throughout  the  affair." 

After  this  affair,  this  "  piebald"  band  of  trappers  wandered 
off  to  Monterey,  on  the  coast  of  California,  and  on  their 
return  on  horseback  through  an  immense  tract  of  the  Eoo;;- 
Digger's  country,  he  gives  the  further  following  accounts  of 
their  transaction  -. : — 

"  In  the  course  of  their  journey  through  the  country  of 
"  the  poor  Root-Diggers,  there  seems  to  have  been  an  em- 
"  ulation  between  them,  which  could  inflict  the  greatest 
"outrages  upon  the  natives.  The  trappers  still  considered 
"them  in  the  light  of  dangerous  foes;  and  the  Mexicans, 
"  very  probably,   charged  them   with  the  sin  of  horse- 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


771 


"stealing;  we  have  no  other  mode  of  accounting  for  the 
"  infamous  barbarities,  of  which,  according  to  their  own 
"story,  they  were  guilty— hunting  the  poor  Indians  lil^e 
'•wild  beasts,  and  killing  them  without  mercy— chasing 
"their  unfortunate  victims  at  full  speed;  noosing  them 
"  around  the  neck  with  their  lasos,  and  then  dragging  them 
"  to  death." 

It  is  due  to  Captain  Bonneville,  that  the  world  should 
know  that  these  cruel  (not  "savogre")  atrocities  were  com- 
mitted by  his  men,  when  they  were  on  a  Tour  to  explore 
th«  shores  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake,  and  many  hundreds  of 
miles  from  him,  and  beyond  his  control ;  and  that  in  his 
work,  both  the  Captain  and  the  writer  of  the  book,  have 
expressed  in  a  proper  way,  their  abhorrence  of  such  fiend 
ish  transactions. 

A  part  of  the  same  "piebald  mixture"  of  trappers, 
were  encamped  in  the  Eiccaree  country,  and  trapping  the 
beavers  out  of  their  streams,  when,  finding  that  the  Ricca- 
rees  had  stolen  a  number  of  their  horses  one  night,  in  the 
morning  made  prisoners  of  two  of  the  Riccarees,  who 
loitered  into  their  camp,  and  probably  without  knowledge 
of  the  offence  committed,  when  they  were  bound  hand  and 
foot  as  hostages,  until  every  one  of  the  horses  should  be 
returned. 

"  The  mountaineers  declared  that  unless  the  horses  were 
"relinquished,  the  prisoners  should  be  burned  to  death. 
"  To  give  force  to  their  threat,  a  pyre  of  logs  and  fagots 
•*  was  heaped  up  and  kindled  into  a  blaze.  The  Riccarees 
"released  one  horse,  and  then  another;  but  finding  that 
"  nothing  but  the  relinquishment  of  all  their  spoils  would 
"  purchase  the  lives  of  their  captives,  they  abandoned  them 
"  to  their  fate,  moving  off'  with  many  parting  words  and 
"  bowlings,  when  the  prisoners  were  dragged  to  the  blazing 
"pyre,  and  burnt  to  death  in  sight  of  their  retreating 
"  comrades. 

"  Such  are  the  savage  cruelties  that  white  men  learn  to 
"practice,  who  mingle  in  savage  life;  and  such  are  the  acts 


m 


I  ■  t 


772 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES  ON  THE 


"  that  lead  to  terrible  recrimination  on  the  part  of  the  In- 
"  dians.  Should  we  hear  of  any  atrocities  committed  by  the 
*'  Riccarees  upon  captive  white  men ;  let  this  signal  and 
"  recent  provocation  bo  borne  in  mind.  Individual  cases 
"of  the  kind  dwell  in  the  recollections  of  whole  tribes 
•'  — and  it  is  a  point  of  honor  and  conscience  to  revenge 
"them."*  ;        , 

To  quote  the  author  further **  The  facts  disclosed 

"  in  the  present  work,  clearly  manifest  the  policy  of  estab- 
•'  lishing  military  posts,  and  a  mounted  force  to  protect  our 
"  Traders  in  their  journeys  across  the  great  Western  wilds ; 
"  and  of  pushing  the  outposts  into  the  heart  of  the  singular 
"  wilderness  we  have  laid  open,  so  as  to  maintain  some 
"  degree  of  sway  over  the  country,  and  to  put  an  end  to 
"  the  kind  of  '  black  mail,'  levied  on  all  occasions  by  the 
"  savage  '  chivalry  of  the  mountains ' " ! 

The  appalling  cruelties  of  the  above  quotations  require 
no  comment ;  and  I  hope  the  author,  as  well  as  the  Captain, 
who  have  my  warmest  approbation  for  having  so  frankly 
revealed  thera,  will  pardon  me  for  having  quoted  vhem  in 
this  place,  as  one  striking  proof  of  the  justice  that  may  be 
reasonably  expected,  in  prospect;  and  that  may  fairly  be 
laid  to  the  past  proceedings  of  these  great  systems  of 
trading  with,  and  civilizing  the  savages ;  which  have  been 
carried  on  from  the  beginning  of  our  settlements  on  the 
Atlantic  Coast,  to  the  present  day,  making  first  acquaintance 
with  them,  and  first  impressions  of  the  glorious  effects  of 
civilization — and  of  the  sum  total  of  which,  this  •  instance 
is  but  a  mere  point ;  but  with  the  singular  merit  which 
redounds  to  the  honor  of  Captain  Bonneville,  that  he  has 

« 
*  During  the  snmmcr  of  this  transaction  I  was  on  the  Upper  Mis- 
souri riTcr,  and  had  to  pass  the  Biccaree  village  in  my  bark  canoe,  with 
only  two  men,  which  the  reader  will  say  justly  accounts  for  the  advice 
of  Mr.  M'Kenzie,  to  pass  the  Riccaree  village  in  the  night,  which  I  did, 
as  I  have  before  described,  by  which  means  it  is  possible  I  preserved  my 
life,  as  they  had  just  killed  the  last  Fur  Trader  in  their  village,  and  as  I 
have  learned  since,  were  "dancing  hia  ecalp"  when  I  came  by  them. 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


778 


frankly  told  tlio  whole  truth ;  which,  if  as  fully  revealed  of 
all  other  transactions  in  these  regions,  I  am  enabled  to  say 
would  shake  every  breast  with  ague-chills  of  abhorrence  of 
civilized  barbarities.    From  the  above  facts,  as  well  as  from 
others  enumerated  in  the  foregoing  epistles,  the  discerning 
reader  will  easily  see  how  prejudices  are  raised  in  the  mind 
of  the  savage,  and  why  so  many  murders  of  white  people 
are  heard  of  on  the  Frontier,  which  are  uniformly  attibuted 
to  the  wanton  cruelty  and  rapacity  of  the  savage — which 
we  denominate  "Indian  murders,"  and  "ruthless  barbari- 
ties," before  we  can  condescend  to  go  to  the  poor  savage, 
and  ask  him  for  a  reason,  which  there  is  no  doubt  he  could 
generally  furnish  us. 

From  these,  and  hundreds  of  others  that  might  be  named, 
and  equally  barbarous,  it  can  easily  be  seen,  that  white 
men  may  well  feel  a  dread  at  every  step  they  take  in  Indian 
realms,  after  atrocities  like  these,  that  call  so  loudly  and  so 
justly  for  revenge,  in  a  country  where  there  are  no  laws  to 
punish ;  but  where  the  cruel  savage  takes  vengeance  in  his 
own  way — and  white  men  fall,  in  the  Indian's  estimation, 
not  as  murdered,  but  executed,  under  the  common  law  of 
their  land. 

Of  the  hundreds  and  thousands  of  such  murders,  as  they 
are  denominated  by  white  men,  who  are  the  only  ones  to 
tell  of  them  in  the  civilized  world ;  it  should  also  be  kept 
in  mind  by  the  reader,  who  passes  his  sentence  on  them, 
that  they  are  all  committed  on  Indian  ground — that  the 
Indian  hunts  not,  nor  traps  anywhere  on  white  man's  soil, 
nor  asks  him  for  his  lands — or  molests  the  sacred  graves 
where  they  have  deposited  the  bones  of  their  fathers, 
their  wives  and  their  little  children. 

I  have  said  that  the  principal  means  of  the  destruction  of 
these  people,  were  the  system  of  trade,  and  the  intro- 
duction of  small-pox,  the  infallible  plague  that  is  conse- 
quent, sooner  or  later,  upon  the  introduction  of  trade  and 
whisky  selling  to  every  tribe.  I  would  venture  the  asser- 
tion, from  books  that  I  have  searched,  and  from  other  evi- 


774 


LETTERS  AND  XOTES  OS  THE 


dence,  that  of  the  numerous  tribes  which  hftvo  already  dis. 
appeared,  and  of  tliose  that  have  been  traded  with,  (j^uite 
to  the  Rocky  Mountains,  each  one  has  had  this  cxotio 
disease  in  thoir  turn — and  in  a  few  months  have  lost  one 
half  or  more  of  their  numbers;  and  that  from  living 
evidences,  and  distinct  traditions,  this  appaling  disease  has 
several  times,  before  our  days,  run  like  a  wave  through 
tlie  Western  tribes,  over  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  to  the 
Pacific  Ocean — thinning  the  ranks  of  the  poor  Indians  to 
an  extent  which  no  knowledge,  save  that  of  the  overlook- 
ing eye  of  the  Almighty,  can  justly  comprehend.* 

I  have  travelled  faithfully  and  fur,  and  have  closely 
scanned,  with  a  hope  of  fairly  portraying  the  condition 
and  customs  of  these  unfortunate  people ;  and  if,  in  taking 
leave  of  my  readers,  which  I  must  soon  do,  they  should 
censure  me  for  my  oversight,  or  any  indiscretion  or  error, 
I  will  take  to  myself  these  consoling  reflections,  that  they 
will  acquit  me  of  intention  to  render  more  or  less  than 
justice  to  any  one ;  and  also,  that  if  in  my  zeal  to  render  a 
service  and  benefit  to  the  Indian,  I  should  have  fallen  short 
of  it,  I  will,  at  least,  be  acquitted  of  having  done  him  an 
injury.  And  in  endeavoring  to  render  them  that  justice, 
it  belongs  to  me  yet  to  say  that  the  introduction  of  the  fatal 
causes  of  their  destruction  above-named,  has  been  a  subject 
of  close  investigation  with  mo  during  my  travels;  and  I 
have  watched  on  every  part  of  the  Frontier  their  destructive 


*  The  Reverend  Mr.  Parker  in  his  Tour  across  the  Rocky  Mountains 
says,  that  amongst  the  Indians,  below  the  Falls  of  the  Columbia,  at 
least  seven-eighths,  if  not  nine-tenths,  as  Dr.  M'Laughlin  believes, 
have  been  swept  away  by  disease  between  the  years  1829,  and  the  time 
that  he  visited  that  place  183G.  "  So  many  and  so  sudden  were  the 
deaths  which  occurred,  that  the  shores  were  strewed  with  the  unburied 
dead,  whole  and  largo  villages  were  depopulated,  and  some  entire  tribes 
have  disappeared."  This  mortality,  he  says,  "  extended  not  only  from 
the  Cascades  to  the  Pacific,  but  from  very  far  North  to  the  coast  of 
California."  These  facts,  with  hundreds  of  otin  «liow  how  rapidly 
the  Indian  population  is  destroyed,  luug  before  we  Lic<.  nun  acquainted 
with  them. 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


775 


influences,  wlii'h  rcnult  in  the  overthrow  of  the  savago 
tribes,  whicli,  one  succeeding  another,  are  continually  bo- 
coming  extinct  under  their  baneful  influences.    And  before 
I  would  oxpatiue  upon  any  system  for  their  successful 
improvement   and   preservation,    I   would    protrude   my 
opinion  to  the  world,  which  I  regret  to  do,  that  so  long  as 
the  past  and  present  f^ystcm  of  trade  and  whisky-selling 
is  tolerated  amongst  them,  there  is  little  hope  for  their 
improvement,  nor  any  chance  for  more  than  a  temporary 
existence.    I  have  closely  studied  the  Indian  character  in 
its  native  state,  and  also  in  its  secondary  form  along  our 
Frontiers;  civilized,  as  it  is  often  (but  incorrectly)  called. 
I  have  seen  it  in  every  phase,  and  although  there  are  many 
noble  instances  to  the  contrary,  and  with  many  of  whom  I 
am  personally  acquainted,  yet  the  greater  part  of  those  who 
have  lingered  along  the  Frontiers,  and  been  kicked  about  like 
dogs,  by  white  men,  and  beaten  into  a  sort  of  a  civilization, 
are  very  far  from  being  what  I  would  be  glad  to  see  them, 
and  proud  to  call  them,  civilized  by  the  aids  and  examples 
of  good  and  moral  people.    Of  the  Indians  in  their  general 
capacity  of  civilized,  along  our  extensive  Frontier,  and 
those  tribes  that  I  found  in  their  primitive  and  disabused 
state,  I  have  drawn  a  Table,  which  I  offer  as  an  estimate  of 
their  comparative  character,  which  I  trust  will  be  found  to 
be  near  the  truth,  generally,  though  like  all  general  rules 
or  estimates,  with  its  exceptions.    (Vide  Appendix  C.) 

Such  are  the  results  to  which  the  present  system  of  civi- 
lization brings  that  small  part  of  these  poor  unfortunate 
people,  who  outlive  the  first  calamities  of  their  country ; 
and  in  this  degraded  and  pitiable  condition,  the  most  of 
them  end  their  days  in  poverty  and  wretchedness,  without 
the  power  of  rising  above  it.  Standing  on  the  soil  which 
they  have  occupied  from  their  childhood,  and  inherited 
from  their  fathers;  with  the  dread  of  "  pale  faces,"  and  the 
deadly  prejudices  that  have  been  reared  in  their  breasts 
against  them,  for  the  destructive  iifluences  which  they 
have  introduced  into  their  country,  which  have  thrown  the 


776 


LETTERS  AND  NOTES. 


greater  part  of  their  friends  and  connexions  into  the  grave 
and  are  now  promising  the  remainder  of  them  no  better 
prospect  than  the  dreary  one  of  living  a  few  years  longer 
and  then  to  sink  into  the  ground  themselves ;  surrendering 
their  lands  and  their  fair  hunting-grounds  to  the  enjoyment 
of  their  enemies,  and  their  bones  to  be  dug  up  and  strewed 
about  the  fields,  or  to  be  labelled  in  our  Museums, 

For  the  Christian  and  philanthropist,  in  any  part  of  the 
world,  there  is  enough,  I  am  sure,  in  the  character,  condi- 
tion, and  history  of  these  unfortunate  people,  to  engage  his 
sympathies— for  the  Nation,  there  is  an  unrequited  account 
of  sin  and  injustice  that  sooner  or  later  will  call  (or  national 
retributim — and  for  the  American  citizens,  who  live,  every- 
where proud  of  their  growing  wealth  and  their  luxuries, 
over  the  bones  of  these  poor  fellows,  who  have  surrendered 
their  hunting-grounds  and  their  lives  to  the  enjoyment  of 
their  cruel  dispossessors,  there  is  a  lingering  terror  yet,  I 
fear,  for  the  reflecting  minds,  whose  mortal  bodies  must 
soon  take  their  humble  places  with  their  red,  but  injured 
brethren,  under  the  same  glebe ;  to  appear  and  stand,  at 
last,  with  guilt's  shivering  conviction,  amidst  the  myriad 
ranks  of  accusing  spirits,  that  are  to  rise  in  their  own  fields^ 
at  the  final  day  of  resurrection ! 


APPENDIX-A. 


EXTINCTION  OP  THE  MANDANS. 

From  the  accounts  brought  to  New  York  in  the  fall  of  1838,  by 
Messrs.  M'Kenzie,  Mitchell,  and  others,  from  the  Upper  Missouri,  and 
with  whom  I  conversed  on  the  subject,  it  seems  that  in  the  summer  of 
that  year  the  small-pox  was  accidentally  introduced  amongst  the  Man- 
dans,  by  the  Fur  Traders ;  and  that  in  the  course  of  two  months  tbey 
all  perished,  except  some  thirty  or  forty,  who  were  taken  as  slaves  by 
the  Riccarces ;  an  enemy  living  two  hundred  miles  below  them,  and  who 
moved  up  and  took  possession  of  their  village  soon  after  their  calamity, 
taking  up  their  residence  in  it,  it  being  a  better  built  village  than  their 
own ;  and  from  the  lips  of  one  of  the  Traders  who  had  more  recently 
arrived  from  there,  I  had  the  following  account  of  the  remaining  few,  in 
whose  destruction  was  the  final  termination  of  this  interesting  and  once 
numerous  tribe. 

The  Riccarees,  he  said,  had  taken  possession  of  the  village  after  the 
disease  had  subsided,  and  after  living  some  months  iu  it,  were  attacked 
by  a  large  party  of  their  enemies,  the  Sioux,  and  whilst  fighting  des- 
perately in  resistance,  in  which  the  Mandan  prisoners  had  taken  an 
active  part,  the  latter  had  concerted  a  plan  for  their  own  destruction, 
which  was  effected  by  their  simultaneously  running  through  the  piquets 
on  to  the  prairie,  calling  out  to  the  Sioux  (both  men  and  women)  to  kill 
them,  "  that  they  were  Riccaree  dogs,  that  their  friends  were  all  dead, 
and  they  did  not  wish  to  live,'*— that  they  here  wielded  their  weapons  as 
desperately  as  they  could,  to  excite  the  fury  of  their  enemy,  and  that 
they  were  thus  cut  to  pieces  and  destroyed. 

The  accounts  given  by  two  or  three  white  men,  who  were  amongst 
the  Mandans  during  the  ravages  of  this  frightful  disease,  are  most 
appalling  and  actually  too  heart-rending  and  disgusting  to  be  recorded. 
The  disease  was  introduced  into  the  country  by  the  Fur  Company's 
Btcamer  from  St.  Louis ;  which  had  two  of  their  crew  sick  with  the  dis- 
ease when  it  approached  the  Upper  Missouri,  and  imprudently  stopped 

(777) 


I 


1.^  ^>iawmw.-*«<rt.'  - 


778 


APPENDIX. 


to  trade  at  the  Mandan  village,  which  was  on  the  bank  of  the  river, 
where  the  chiefs  and  others  were  allowed  to  come  on  board,  by  which 
means  the  disease  got  ashore. 

I  am  constrained  to  believe,  that  the  gentlemen  in  charge  of  the 
steamer  did  not  believe  it  to  be  the  small-pox ;  for  if  they  had  known  it 
to  be  such,  I  cannot  conceive  of  snch  imprudence,  as  regarded  their  own 
interests  in  the  country,  as  well  as  the  fate  of  these  poor  people,  by 
allowing  their  boat  to  advance  into  the  country  under  snch  circam- 
stances. 

It  seems  that  the  Mandans  were  surrounded  by  several  war-parties  of 
their  more  powerful  enemies  the  Sioux,  at  that  unlucky  time,  and  they 
could  not  therefore  disperse  upon  the  plains,  by  which  many  of  them 
could  have  been  saved ;  and  they  were  necessarily  inclosed  within  the 
pi(iuets  of  their  village,  where  the  disease  in  a  few  days  became  so  very 
malignant  that  death  ensued  in  a  few  hours  after  its  attacks ;  and  so 
slight  were  their  hopes  when  they  were  attacked,  that  nearly  half  of 
them  destroyed  themselves  with  their  knives,  with  their  guns,  and  by 
dashing  their  brains  out  by  leaping  head-foremost  from  a  thirty  foot 
ledge  of  rocks  in  front  of  their  village.  The  first  symptom  of  the  dis- 
ease was  a  rapid  swelling  of  the  body,  and  so  very  virulent  had  it  be- 
come, that  very  many  died  in  two  or  three  hours  after  their  attack,  and 
that  in  many  cases  without  the  appearance  of  the  disease  upon  the  skin. 
Utter  dismay  seemed  to  possess  all  classes  and  all  ages,  and  they  gave 
themselves  up  in  despair,  as  entirely  lost.  There  was  but  one  continual 
crying  and  howling  and  praying  to  the  Great  Spirit  for  his  protection 
daring  the  nights  and  days ;  and  there  being  but  few  living,  and  those  in 
too  appaling  despair,  nobody  thought  of  burying  the  dead,  whose  bodies, 
whole  families  together,  were  left  in  horrid  and  loathsome  piles  in  their 
own  wigwams,  with  a  few  buffalo  robes,  &c.,  thrown  over  thera,  there  to 
decay,  and  be  devoured  by  their  own  dogs.  That  such  a  proportion  of 
their  community  as  that  above-mentioned,  should  have  perished  in  so 
short  a  time,  seems  yet  to  the  reader,  an  unaccountable  thing;  but  in 
addition  to  the  causes  just  mentioned,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that 
this  frightful  disease  is  everywhere  far  more  fatal  amongst  the  native 
than  in  civilized  population,  which  may  be  owing  to  some  extraordinary 
ronstitutional  susceptibility ;  or,  I  think,  more  probably,  to  the  exposed 
lives  they  live,  leading  more  directly  to  fatal  consequences.    In  this,  as 


APPENDIX, 


779 


in  most  of  their  diseases,  they  ignorantly  and  imprudently  plunge  into 
the  coldest  water,  whilst  in  the  highest  state  of  fever,  and  often  die 
before  they  have  the  power  to  get  out. 

Some  have  attributed  the  unexampled  fatality  of  this  disease  amongst 
the  Indians  to  the  fact  of  their  living  entirely  on  animal  food ;  but  so 
important  a  subject  for  investigation  I  must  leave  for  sounder  judgments 
than  mine  to  decide.  They  are  a  people  whose  constitutions  and  habits 
of  life  enable  them  most  certainly  to  meet  most  of  its  ills  with  less  dread, 
and  with  decidedly  greater  success,  than  they  are  met  in  civilized 
communities ;  and  I  would  not  dare  to  decide  that  their  simple  meat 
diet  was  the  cause  of  their  fatal  exposure  to  one  frightful  disease,  when 
I  am  decidedly  of  opinion  that  it  has  been  the  cause  of  their  exemption 
and  protection  from  another,  almost  equally  destructive,  and,  like  the 
former,  of  civilized  introduction. 

During  the  season  of  the  ravages  of  the  Asiatic  cholera  which  swept 
over  the  greater  part  of  the  western  country,  and  the  Indian  frontier,  I 
was  a  traveller  through  those  regions,  and  was  able  to  witness  its  effects ; 
and  I  learned  from  what  I  saw,  as  well  as  from  what  I  have  heard  in 
other  parts  since  that  time,  that  it  travelled  to  and  over  the  frontiers, 
carrying  dismay  and  death  amongst  the  tribes  on  the  borders  in  many 
cases,  so  far  as  they  had  adopted  the  civilized  modes  of  life,  with  its  dis- 
sipations, using  vegetable  food  and  salt ;  but  wherever  it  came  to  the 
tribes  living  exclusively  on  meat,  and  that  without  the  use  of  salt,  its 
progress  was  suddenly  stopped.    I  mention  this  as  a  subject  which  I 
looked  upon  as  important  to  science,  and  therefore  one  on  which  I  made 
many  careful  enquiries  ;  and  so  far  as  I  have  learned  along  that  part  of 
the  frontier  over  which  I  have  since  passed,  I  have  to  my  satisfaction 
ascertained  that  such  became  the  utmost  limits  of  this  fatal  disease  in 
its  travel  to  the  West,  unless  where  it  might  have  followed  some  of  the 
routes  of  the  Fur  Traders,  who,  of  course,  have  introduced  the  modes 
of  civilized  life. 

From  the  Trader  who  was  present  at  the  destruction  of  the  Mandans 
I  had  many  most  wonderful  incidents  of  this  dreadful  scene,  but  I  dread 
to  recite  them.  Amongst  them,  however,  there  is  one  that  I  must 
briefly  describe,  relative  to  the  death  of  that  noble  gentleman  of  whom  I 
have  already  said  so  much,  and  to  whom  I  became  so  much  attached, 
Mah-to-ioh-pa,  or  "  the  Four  Bears."    This  fine  fellow  sat  in  his  wigwam 


I 


780 


APPENDIX. 


and  watched  every  one  of  his  family  die  about  him,  his  wives  and  his 
little  children,  after  he  had  recovered  from  the  disease  himself;  when 
ho  walked  out,  around  the  village,  and  wept  over  the  final  destruction 
of  his  tribe ;  his  braves  and  warriors,  whose  sinewy  arms  alone  he  could 
depend  on  for  a  continuance  of  their  existence,  all  laid  low ;  when  he 
came  back  to  his  lodge,  where  he  covered  'ais  whole  family  in  a  pile, 
with  a  number  of  robes,  and  wrapping  another  around  himself,  went  out 
upon  a  hill  at  a  little  distance,  where  he  laid  several  days,  despite  all 
the  solicitations  of  the  Traders,  resolved  to  starve  himself  to  death.  Ho 
remained  there  till  the  sixth  day,  when  he  had  just  strength  enough  to 
creep  buck  to  the  village,  when  he  entered  the  horrid  gloom  of  his  own 
wigwam,  and  laying  his  body  along-side  of  the  group  of  his  family,  drew 
his  robe  over  him  and  died  on  the  ninth  day  of  his  fatal  abstinence. 

So  have  perished  the  frioadly  and  hospitable  Mandans,  from  the  best 
accounts  I  could  get;  and  although  it  may  be  possible  that  some  few 
individuals  may  yet  be  remaining,  I  think  it  is  not  probable ;  and  one 
tiling  is  certain,  even  if  such  be  the  case,  that,  as  a  nation,  the  Mandans 
arc  extinct,  having  no  longer  an  existence.  . 

There  is  yet  a  melancholy  part  of  the  tale  to  be  told,  relating  to  the 
ravages  of  this  frightful  disease  in  that  country  on  the  same  occasion, 
as  it  spread  to  other  contiguous  tribes,  to  the  Minatarees,  the  Knistcn- 
caux,  the  Blackfeet,  the  Chayonncs  and  Grows ;  amongst  whom  twenty. 
five  thousand  perished  in  the  course  of  four  or  five  months,  which  most 
appaling  facts  I  got  from  Major  Filcher,  now  Superintendent  of  Indian 
AflTuirsatSt.  Louis,  from  Mr.  M'Kcnzie,  and  others. 

It  may  be  naturally  asked  here,  by  the  reader,  whether  the  Govem« 
ment  of  the  United  States  hav  taken  any  measures  to  prevent  the 
ravages  of  this  fatal  disease  amougst  these  exposed  tribes ;  to  which  I 
answer,  that  repeated  cfibrts  have  been  made,  and  so  far  generally,  as 
the  tribes  have  ever  had  the  disease,  (or,  at  all  events,  within  the  recol- 
lections  of  those  who  are  now  living  in  the  tribes,)  the  Government 
agents  have  succeeded  in  introducing  vaccination  as  a  protection  ;  but 
amongst  those  tribes  in  their  wild  state,  and  where  they  have  not  suf- 
fered with  the  disease,  very  little  success  has  been  met  with  in  the 
attempt  to  protect  them,  on  account  of  their  superstitions,  which  have 
generally  resisted  all  attempts  to  introduce  vaccination.  Whilst  I  was 
on  the  Upper  Missouri,  several  surgeons  were  sent  into  the  country 


APPENDIX. 


781 


with  the  Indian  agents,  where  I  several  times  saw  the  attempts  made 
without  success.  They  have  perfect  confidence  in  the  skill  of  their  own 
physicians,  until  the  disease  has  made  one  slaughter  in  their  tribe,  and 
then,  having  seen  white  men  amongst  them  protected  by  it,  they  are 
disposed  to  receive  it,  before  which  they  cannot  believe  that  so  minute  a 
puncture  in  the  arm  is  going  to  protect  them  from  so  fatal  a  disease; 
end  as  they  see  white  men  so  earnestly  urging  it,  they  decide  that  it 
must  be  some  new  mode  or  trick  of  pale  faces,  by  which  they  are  to  gain 
some  new  advantage  over  them,  and  they  stubbornly  and  successfully 
resist  it. 


THE  WELSH  COLONY, 

Which  I  bareiy  spoke  of  in  page  319,  which  sailed  under  the  direction 
of  Prince  Madoc,  or  Madawe,  from  North  Wales,  in  the  early  part  of 
the  fourteenth  century  in  ten  ships,  according  to  numerous  and  accredited 
authors,  and  never  returned  to  their  own  country,  have  been  supposed 
to  have  landed  somewhere  on  the  coast  of  North  or  South  America; 
and  from  the  best  authorities,  (which  I  will  suppose  everybody  has  read 
rather  than  quote  them  at  this  time),  I  bolieve  it  has  been  pretty  clearly 
proved  that  they  landed  either  on  the  coast  of  Florida  or  about  the 
mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  and  according  to  the  history  and  poetry  of 
their  country,  settled  somewhere  in  the  interior  of  North  America, 
where  they  are  yet  remaining,  intermixed  with  some  of  the  savage  tribes. 

In  my  Letter  just  referred  to,  I  barely  suggested,  that  the  Maudans, 
whom  I  found  with  so  many  peculiarities  in  looks  and  customs,  which  I 
have  already  described,  might  possibly  be  the  remains  of  this  lost  colony 
amalgamated  with  a  tribe,  or  part  of  a  tribe,  of  the  natives,  which  would 
account  for  the  unusual  appearances  of  this  tribe  of  Indians,  and  also 
for  the  changed  character  and  customs  of  the  Welsh  Colonists,  provided 
these  be  the  remains  of  them. 

Since  those  notes  were  written,  as  will  have  been  seen  by  my 
subsequent  Letters,  I  have  descended  the  Missouri  river  from  the  Man- 
dan  village  to  St.  Louis,  a  distance  of  eighteen  hundred  miles,  and  have 
taken  pains  to  examine  its  shores ;  and  from  the  repeated  remains 
of  the  ancient  location  of  the  Mandans,  which  I  met  with  on  the  banks 
of  that  river,  I  am  fully  convinced  that  I  have  traced  them  down  nearly 
to  tho  mouth  of  the  Ohio  river ;  and  from  exactly  similar  appearances, 


782 


APPENDIX. 


which  I  recollect  to  have  seen  several  years  since  in  several  places  in 
the  interior  of  the  state  of  Ohio,  I  am  fully  convinced  that  they  have 
formerly  occupied  that  part  of  the  country,  and  have,  from  some  cause 
or  other,  been  put  in  motion,  and  continued  to  make  their  repeated 
moves  until  they  arrived  at  the  place  of  their  residence  at  the  time  of 
their  extinction,  on  the  Upper  Missouri. 

These  ancient  fortifications,  which  are  very  numerous  in  that  vicinity 
Bome  of  which  enclose  a  great  many  acres,  and  being  built  on  the  banks 
of  the  rivers,  with  walls  in  some  places  twenty  or  thirty  feet  in  height, 
with  covered  ways  to  the  water,  evince  a  knowledge  of  the  science  of 
fortifications,  apparently  not  a  century  behind  that  of  the  present  day, 
were  evidently  never  built  by  any  nation  of  savages  in  America,  and 
present  to  us  incontestible  proof  of  the  former  existence  of  a  people 
very  far  advanced  in  the  arts  of  civilization,  who  have,  from  some  cause 
or  o'her,  disappeared,  and  left  these  imperishable  proofs  of  their  former 
existence. 

Now  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  the  ten  ships  of  Madoc,  or  a  part  of 
them  at  least,  entered  the  Mississippi  river  at  the  Balize,  and  made 
their  way  up  the  Mississippi,  or  that  they  lanr'ed  somewhere  on  the 
Florida  coast,  and  that  their  brave  and  persevering  colonists  made  their 
way  through  the  interior,  to  a  position  on  the  Ohio  river,  where  thoy 
cultivated  their  fields,  and  established  in  one  of  the  finest  countries  on 
earth,  a  flourishing  colony ;  but  were  at  length  set  upon  by  the  savages, 
whom,  perhaps,  they  provoked  to  warfare,  being  trespassers  on  their 
hunting-grounds,  and  by  whom,  in  overpowering  hordes,  they  were 
besieged,  until  it  was  necessary  to  erect  these  fortifications  for  their 
defence,  into  which  they  were  at  last  driven  by  a  confederacy  of  tribes, 
and  thcic  held  till  their  ammunition  and  provisions  gave  out,  and  they  in 
tlie  end  have  all  perished,  except,  perhaps,  that  portion  of  them  who 
might  huvc  funned  alliance  by  marriage  with  the  Indians,  and  their  off. 
spring,  who  would  have  been  half-breeds,  and  of  course  attached  to  the 
Indians'  side ;  whose  lives  have  been  spared  in  the  general  massacre ; 
and  at  length,  being  despised,  as  all  half-brcods  of  enemies  are,  have 
gathe'ed  themselves  into  a  band,  and  Revering  from  their  parent  tribe, 
have  moved  off,  and  increased  in  numbers  and  strength,  as  they  have 
advanced  up  the  Missouri  river  to  the  place  where  they  have  been 
known  for  many  years  past  by  the  name  of  the  Mandaiis,  a  corruption 


APPENDIX. 


783 


or  abbreviation,  perhaps,  of  "Madawgwt/a,"  the  name  applied  by  the 
Welsh  to  the  followers  of  Madawc. 

If  this  be  a  startling  theory  for  the  world,  they  will  be  the  more  sure 
to  read  the  following  brief  reasons  which  I  bring  in  support  of  my 
opinion ;  and  if  they  do  not  support  me,  they  will  at  least  be  worth 
knowing,  and  may,  at  the  same  time,  be  the  means  of  eliciting  further 
and  more  snccessful  enquiry. 

As  I  have  said,  on  page  415  and  in  other  places,  the  marks  of  the 
Mandan  villages  are  known  by  the  excavations  of  two  feet  or  more 
in  depth,  and  thirty  or  forty  feet  in  diameter,  of  a  circular  form,  made 
in  the  ground  for  the  foundatics  of  their  wigwams,  which  leare  a 
decided  remain  for  centuries,  and  one  that  is  easily  detected  the  moment 
that  it  is  met  with.  After  leaving  the  Mandan  village,  I  found  the 
marks  of  their  former  residence  about  sixty  miles  below  where  they 
were  then  living,  and  from  which  they  removed  (from  their  own  account) 
about  sixty  or  eighty  years  since ;  and  from  the  appearance  of  the  num- 
ber of  their  lodges,  I  should  think,  that  at  that  recent  date  there  must 
oave  been  three  times  the  number  that  were  living  when  I  was  amongst 
/hem.  Near  the  month  of  the  big  Shienne  river,  two  hundred  miles 
below  their  last  location,  I  found  still  more  ancient  remains,  and  in  as 
many  as  six  or  seven  other  places  between  that  and  the  mouth  of  the 
Ohio,  and  each  one,  as  I  visited  them,  appearing  more  and  more  ancient, 
convincing  me  that  these  people,  wherever  they  might  have  come  from, 
have  gradually  made  their  moves  up  the  banks  of  the  Missouri,  to  the 
place  where  I  visited  them. 

For  the  most  part  of  this  distance  they  have  been  in  the  heart  of  the 
great  Sioux  conntry,  and  being  looked  upon  by  the  Sioux  as  trespassers, 
have  been  continually  warred  upon  by  this  numerous  tribe,  who  have 
endeavored  to  extinguish  them,  as  they  have  been  endeavoring  to  do 
ever  since  our  first  acquaintance  with  them ;  but  who  being  always 
fortified  by  a  strong  picquet,  or  stockade,  have  successfully  withstood 
the  assault:'  of  their  enemies,  and  preserved  the  remnant  of  their  tribe. 
Through  this  sort  of  gauntlet  they  have  run,  in  passing  through  the 
countries  of  these  warlike  and  hostile  tribes. 

It  may  be  objected  to  this,  perhaps,  that  the  Riccarees  and  Minatareea 
build  their  wigwams  in  the  same  way ,  but  this  proves  nothing,  for  the 
Minatarees  are  Crows,  from  the  north-west ;  and  by  their  own  showing, 


784 


APPENDIX. 


fled  to  the  Mandans  for  protection,  and  forming  their  villages  by  the 
Bide  of  them,  built  their  wigwams  in  the  some  manner. 

The  Riccarees  have  been  a  very  small  tribe,  far  inferior  to  the  Man- 
dans ;  and  by  the  traditions  of  the  Mandans,  as  well  as  from  the  evidence 
of  the  first  explorers,  Lewis  and  Clarke,  and  others,  have  lived,  until 
quite  lately,  on  terms  of  intimacy  with  the  Mandans,  whose  villages 
they  have  successively  occupied  as  the  Mandans  have  moved  and  vaca- 
ted them,  as  they  now  are  doing,  since  disease  has  swept  the  whole  of 
the  Mandans  away. 

Whether  my  derivation  of  the  word  JVanefan  from  Madavogvuya  be 
correct  or  not,  I  will  pass  it  over  to  the  world  at  present  merely  as 
premmpiive  proof,  for  want  of  better,  which,  perhaps,  this  enquiry  may 
elicit ;  and,  at  the  same  time,  I  offer  the  welsh  word  Mandon,  (the 
woodroof,  a  species  of  madder  nsed  as  a  red  dye,)  as  the  name  that 
might  possibly  have  been  applied  by  the  Welsh  neighbors  to  these  people, 
on  account  of  their  very  ingenious  mode  of  giving  the  beautiful  red  and 
other  dyes  to  the  porcupine  quills  with  which  they  garnish  their  dresses. 
In  their  own  language  they  called  themselves  See-poJis-ka^u  mah-ka-kee, 
^^he  people  of  the  pheasants,)  which  was  probably  the  name  of  the 
primitive  stock,  before  they  were  mixed  with  any  other  people ;  and  to 
have  got  such  a  name,  it  is  natural  to  suppose  that  they  must  have  come 
from  a  country  where  pheasants  existed,  which  cannot  be  found  short  of 
reaching  the  timbered  country  at  the  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
some  six  or  eight  hundred  miles  West  of  the  Mandans,  or  the  forests  of 
Indiana  and  Ohio,  some  hundreds  of  miles  to  the  South  and  East  of 
where  they  last  lived. 

The  above  facts,  together  with  the  other  one  which  they  repeatedly 
related  to  me,  and  which  I  have  before  alluded  to,  that  they  had  often 
been  to  the  hill  of  the  lied  Pipe  Stone,  and  that  they  once  lived  near  it, 
carry  conclusive  evidence,  I  think,  that  they  have  formerly  occupied  a 
country  much  farther  to  the  South;  and  that  they  have  repeatedly 
changed  their  locations,  until  they  reached  the  spot  of  their  last  resi- 
dence, where  they  have  met  with  their  final  misfortune.  And  as  evidence 
in  support  of  my  opinion  that  they  came  from  the  banks  of  the  Ohio, 
and  have  brought  with  them  some  of  the  customs  of  the  civilized  people 
who  erected  those  ancient  fortifications,  I  am  able  to  say,  that  the 
numerous  specimens  of  pottery  which  have  been  taken  from  the  graves 


APPENDIX. 


786 


and  tumuli  about  those  ancient  works,  {xpt-'<-of  which  may  be  seen  now 
in  the  Cincinnati  Museum,  and  some  ^t  which,  my  own  donations,  and 
which  have  so  much  surprised  the  enquiring  world,)  were  to  be  seen  in 
great  numbers  in  the  use  of  the  Mandans ;  and  scarcely  a  day  in  the 
summer,  when  the  visitor  to  their  village  would  not  see  the  women  at 
work  with  their  hands  and  fingers,  moulding  them  from  black  clay,  into 
vases,  cups,  pitchers,  and  pots,  and  baking  them  in  their  little  kilns  in 
the  sides  of  the  hill,  or  under  the  bank  of  the  river. 

In  addition  to  this  art,  which  I  am  sure  belongs  to  no  other  tribe  on 
the  Continent,  these  people  have  also,  as  a  secret  with  themselves,  the 
extraordinary  art  of  manufacturing  a  very  beautiful  and  lasting  kind  of 
blue  glass  beads,  which  they  wear  on  their  necks  in  great  quantities, 
and  decidedly  value  above  all  others  that  are  brought  amongst  them 
by  the  Fur  Traders. 

This  secret  is  not  only  one  that  the  Traders  did  not  introduce  amongst 
them,  but  one  that  they  cannot  learn  from  them ;  and  at  the  same  time, 
beyond  a  doubt,  an  art  that  has  been  introduced  amongst  them  by  some 
civilized  people,  as  it  is  as  yet  unknown  to  other  Indian  tribes  in  that 
vicinity,  or  elsewhere.  Of  this  interesting  fact  Lewis  and  Clark  have 
given  an  account  thirty-three  years  ago,  at  a  tim6  when  no  Traders,  or 
other  white  people,  had  been  amongst  the  Mandans,  to  have  taught 
them  so  curious  an  art. 

The  Mandan  canoes  which  are  altogether  different  from  those  of  all 
other  tribes,  are  exactly  the  Welsh  coracle,  made  of  rate-hides,  the  skins 
of  buffaloes,  stretched  underneath  a  frame  made  of  willow  or  other 
boughs,  and  shaped  nearly  round,  like  a  tub ;  which  the  woman  carries 
on  her  head  from  her  wigwam  to  the  water's  edge,  and  having  stepped 
into  it,  stands  in  front,  and  propels  it  by  dipping  her  paddle  forward, 
and  drawing  it  to  her,  instead  of  paddling  by  the  side. 

How  far  these  extraordinary  facts  may  go  in  the  estimation  of  the 

reader,  with  numerous  others  which  I  have  mentioned  in  Volume  I., 

whilst  speaking  of  the  Mandans,  of  their  various  complexions,  colours 

of  hair,  and  blue  and  grey  eyes,  towards  establishing  my  opinion  as  a 

sound  theory,  I  cannot  say ;  but  this  much  I  can  safely  aver,  that  at  the 

moment  I  first  saw  these  people,  I  was  so  struck  with  the  peculiarity  of 

their  appearance,  that  I  was  under  the  instant  conviction  that  they  were 

an  amalgam  of  a  native,  with  some  civilized  race ;  and  from  what  I  havo 

60 


786 


APPKNDIX. 


■een  of  them,  and  of  the  remains  on  the  Missouri  and  Ohio  riTers,  I  feci 
fully  convinced  that  these  people  have  emigrated  from  the  latter  stream ; 
and  that  they  have,  in  the  manner  that  I  have  already  stated,  with 
many  of  their  customs,  been  preserved  from  the  almost  total  destruction 
of  the  bold  colonists  of  Madawo,  who,  I  believe,  settled  upon  and 
occupied  for  a  century  or  so,  the  rich  and  fertile  banks  of  the  Ohio.  In 
adducing  the  proof  for  the  support  of  this  theory,  if  I  have  failed  to 
complete  it,  I  have  the  satisfaction  that  I  have  not  taken  up  much  of 
the  reader's  time,  and  I  can  therefore  claim  hia  attention  a  few  moments 
longer,  whilst  I  refer  him  to  a  brief  vocabulary  of  the  Mandan  language 
in  the  following  pages,  where  he  may  compare  it  with  that  of  the  Welsh ; 
and  better  perhaps,  than  I  can,  decide  whether  there  is  any  affinity  ex- 
isting between  the  two ;  and  if  he  finds  it,  it  will  bring  me  a  friendly  aid 
in  support  of  the  position  I  have  taken. 

From  the  comparison,  that  I  have  been  able  to  make,  I  think  I  am 
authorized  to  say,  that  in  the  following  list  of  words,  which  form  a  part 
of  that  vocabulary,  there  is  a  striking  similarity,  and  quite  sufficient  to 
excite  surprise  in  the  minds  of  the  attentive  reader,  if  it  could  be  proved 
that  those  resemblances  were  but  the  results  of  accident  between  two 
foreign  and  distinct  i'dioms. 


English. 

J. 

You.... 

He 

She 

B 

We 


Mandan. 

Me 

,  Ne 

,  E 

.  Ea 

,  Ount 

Noo 


Welsh. 

Mi 

Chwi 

A 

B 

,  Hwynt Hooynt 

Ni Ne 

Hwna  mas Hoona 

Hona^m Hona 


Pronounced. 

Me 
Chwe 
A 
A 


Thefj Eonah... 

Those  ones Trhai  Hyna 

No,  or  there  it  not  yLegoah Nagoes Nagosh 

(Nage \ 

Nag 
Na 

Head Pan Pen Pan 

The  Great  Spirit  MahopenetaMawr  penaethir*..  Maoor  panoether 

Ysprid  mawrf...  XJspryd  maoor 

•  To  sot  M  •  giMkt  chief— head  or  principal— toTerelgn  or  luprame. 
fTbeareat  Spirit. 


APPENDIX. 


787 


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788 


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▲PPSNDIZ. 


APPENDIX~C. 


i  V  '^■■^  rt 

i-      CHARACTER.— (Paoi  776.) 

t                                  i 

Original. 

Secmdary. 

Origindl. 

* 

Secondary,      [ 

Handsome 

Ugly 

Warlike 

Peaceable 

MUd 

Austere 

Proud 

Humble     ^      , 

Modest 

Diffident 

Honest 

Honest      '      ' 

Yirtaous 

Iiibidinous 

Honorable 

Honorable 

Temperate 

Dissipated 

Ignorant 

Conceited         1 

Free 

Enslaved 

Vain 

Humble           \^ 

Active 

Crippled 

Eloquent 

Eloquent       ..  , 

Affable 

Reserved 

Independent 

Dependent 

Social 

Taciturn 

Grateful 

Grateful           | 

Hospitable 

Hospitable 

Happy 

Miserable 

Oharitable 

Charitable 

Healthy 

Sickly             * 

Bellgioas 

Religious 

Long-lived 

Short-lived       * 

Worshipful 

Worshipful 

Bed 

Pale-red           j 

Creddoos 

Suspicious 

Sober 

Drunken           ' 

Buperstltions 

Superstitious 

Wild 

Wild 

Bold 

Timid 

Increasing 

Decreasing       ' 

Straight 

Crooked 

Faithful 

Faithful 

Uracefal 

Graceless 

Stout-hearted 

Broken-hearted 

Cleanly 

Filthy 

Indolent 

Indolent 

Brave 

Brave 

Full-blood 

Mized-blood 

Revengeful 

Revengeful 

Living 

Dying 

Jealous 

Jealous 

Rich 

Poor                ! 

Cruel 

Cruel 

Landholders 

Beggars 

A    1;.     ■  -.  ^_-  ,  , 

"  ■■  '-^     PI 

NIS. 

"  *  '^  ■'  :   :  ■ 

-  V 


^navfqnSi?: 


